Winning Trainers Sue Racing Victoria After Funds Disappear from Melbourne Cup Payouts

Racing Victoria is facing legal action from the trainers who achieved victory in last year’s Melbourne Cup.

The Queensland training partnership of Sheila Laxon and John Symons has initiated a claim in the District Court against the racing authority after their share of the Cup prizemoney went missing.

In January, it was disclosed that the trainers had not received any portion of their $464,000 winnings, while both the winning jockey and the horse’s owners had already received their payments.

The trainers are due approximately 10 per cent of the $4.4 million accumulated from Knight’s Choice winning the prestigious Cup.

Although Racing Victoria did process the funds, the bank details on record for Laxon and Symons’ stable were reportedly outdated.

The trainers are currently unable to access the outdated account, and Racing Victoria has stated that it has made attempts to resolve the issue without success.

“We cannot provide detailed comments since this matter is now under legal proceedings,” noted Racing Victoria in a statement released to Wide World of Sports.

“However, we affirm that RV has disbursed all Melbourne Cup prizemoney as required, including the payments to the bank account registered with us for trainers Ms Laxon and Mr Symons in Victoria.”

“We have endeavoured to assist Ms Laxon and Mr Symons in recovering their money from what RV has been informed is their former account.”

The trainers are now pursuing legal channels to claim their owed money.

The bank account in question is reportedly still operational, though neither Laxon nor Symons can access it, as per News Corp.

It is believed that an individual with access to the bank account has yet to transfer any funds.

This unfortunate situation has somewhat overshadowed the fairytale journey of Knight’s Choice.

The horse was initially quoted at odds of $100 by bookmakers to win the iconic race at Flemington in November, then captivated the nation when it surged through the field to take victory under the exceptional direction of jockey Robbie Dolan.