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The image of thoroughbred racing took another huge hit this week.
Australia's former leading trainer Darren Weir was shown on graphic hidden camera footage shocking three racehorses with a 'jigger' at his Warrnambool stables just a week before the 2018 Melbourne Cup.
The almost 15-minute video shows Weir giving a tutorial on shocking race horses to stable foreman Jarrod McLean and stablehand Tyson Kermond.
Weir knew exactly what speeds he wanted set on the treadmill, after exactly how much distance to apply the electronic device, how to best apply the jigger and when he wanted the horses hit with a polythene pipe.
Racehorse owners across Australia are paying millions of dollars each year - out of every race - for equine welfare out of their prizemoney.
There is a massive compulsory industry investment in racehorse welfare - re-homing horses, pathways to show jumping and off-the-track programs.
There has never been a case in Australian thoroughbred racing where animal welfare has been more front and centre.
Here was Australia's leading horseman at the time shock training horses while they were confined on a high-speed treadmill - every industry participant has to be horrified.
It's highly unlikely the video will ever be made public.
But, how long will Weir be disqualified for after the Victorian Racing tribunal?
It's expected that stewards will ask for a life ban - at the very least the penalty will be measured in years.
The sentence is expected to be handed down next week.
In other news this week, congratulations must go to brave city students, pictured above.
A group of Warrnambool College students say they had no hesitation rushing to save the lives of swimmers struggling in a rip at the city's main beach.
Year nine students Bonny Albert, Foteini Agrafioti Rapti, Jerry Dixon, Iris Beckel, all 14, and Zoe Graham, 15, were surfing as part of an outdoor education class on March 18, 2024, when they noticed two south-west women and their children, aged six, eight and nine, had became caught in a strong current.
The operation of the city's animal shelter could be brought in-house under a move being considered by Warrnambool City Council.
For the past 25 years, the shelter - which is in "dire" need of a major upgrade - has been run by the RSPCA.
But the city council has revealed it is considering whether it brings the service in house.
Warrnambool Godfreys will close its doors for good after administrators failed to find a buyer to save the struggling vacuum cleaner retailer.
A small south-west town desperate to have its pub reopen will get its wish.
The Yambuk Inn has been purchased by a couple who plan to revamp it before opening the doors to the community.
Offshore wind farm zones near Warrnambool and Port Fairy could be devastating to the southern right whales that calve at Logans Beach, a former city councillor says.
More than $1.7 million worth of items were stolen from south-west residents in a year, new data shows.
Crime Statistics Agency figures released on March 21, 2024 revealed there were 1590 items stolen during burglary/break-ins and thefts across the south-west in the year to December 2023.
Allansford's Stephanie Scott says she never thought she would be modelling on a catwalk at Melbourne Fashion Week as a mum of three in her 30s.
But that's exactly what happened on International Women's Day.
Centres in the city - as well as outlying areas - are at capacity and have long waiting lists.
Jack Ansell is a step closer to realising his dream of playing American football at the highest level.
The Warrnambool-raised punter, fresh off finishing his third and final US college season with Purdue University, has been invited for a workout with NFL outfit Indianapolis Colts in early April.
Until next week, stay safe and take care.
Rachael Houlihan, deputy editor.