After the joy of finally taking out the Elvis Championship Final at Parkes, Amanda Turnbull will now fight to clear her name after being one of four people charged by Victorian Police in relation to alleged race fixing.
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The charges were laid on Wednesday afternoon but that didn’t stop Turnbull from producing another masterclass at Parkes that night, winning the feature event and winning three other races.
Turnbull, fellow leading driver Nathan Jack, Mark Pitt and Lisa Bartley were all charged.
The quartet had been arrested by police at the Breeders Crown meeting at Melton in August but were released without charge.
However police have since announced they’ve been charged with engaging in conduct that corrupts a betting outcome and other related offences.
The charges stem from an investigation from a race at Cobram on June 22 2015.
The focus was on the training arrangements surrounding the winning horse Airbournemagic, the tactics adopted during the running of the race and the associated betting on the race.
All four have been summoned to face Shepparton Magistrates Court on February 20 but must first provide Harness Racing Victoria (HRV) stewards with submissions into why they should not have their licences suspended. They have until 5pm next Thursday to provide their submissions.
Turnbull’s father, racing legend Steve Turnbull, said on Thursday the family were ‘devastated’ by the latest development, but said Amanda would fight to clear her name.
“We’re going to fight these charges,” he said.
He said the family were rallying around Amanda, supporting her at this difficult time.
“This is hard on us all,she’s never been charged with anything [before].
“When she was first arrested we’ve since found out she should have had a solicitor with her then, but we didn’t know. Everything is in the hands of the solicitor now, but she is going to fight this.”
A staunch defender of his daughter, the racing stalwart was also full of praise for Amanda’s work in the Elvis Championship Final.
Turnbull guided $2 favourite Greenngold to victory in the 2040m event, edging out Destiny Warrior ($7.70) by 1.9m.
On two prior occasions she had missed out when steering a favourite in the decider – Cullectomatic ($2.30) placing ninth in 2015 and Our Buller Boy ($3) third in 2013.
“It is really nice to do, it’s a big meeting and Parkes’ biggest night of the year,” he said. “Amanda’s horse is good, he’s done really big for her, think he’s won five in a row now.”
