Racing queen Gai Waterhouse lashes out at 'ratbags' who are destroying the sport in Australia in a thinly veiled reference to NSW supremo Peter V'landys

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Aussie racing queen Gai Waterhouse has slammed the 'ratbags' in charge of the sport in NSW and Victoria for creating a 'tug-of-war' that is ruining it for punters. 

Racing NSW supremo Peter V'landys has made it his mission over the last few years to start battle after battle in his war against Victoria, often trying to clash with Australia's most historic races by creating some of his own.

He declared last year that the newly minted Big Dance on Melbourne Cup day would create 'the exact same experience' as Flemington, and has also shaken things up with the introduction of the $15million Everest.

It's been a very publicly waged war, and trainers and jockeys on both sides of the border have often been left to choose between two very high-profile race days. 

That happened again recently when two time-honoured Group 1 races, the Australian Guineas (Flemington) and Randwick Guineas - both middle-distance races for three-year-olds - were held within 20 minutes of each other on March 4.

Gai Waterhouse raises the iconic Melbourne Cup after winning with Fiorente in 2013. The Aussie racing legend has slammed organisers for creating a public 'tug-of-war'

She launched a thinly-veiled swipe at Racing NSW supremo Peter V'landys (pictured right at Ascot in the UK last year after taking part in the Royal Procession) for the public battle 

Waterhouse looks over the form while at Flemington on March 25 for Australian Cup day, while NSW was simultaneously holding Tancred Stakes day 

Waterhouse has been seen in Melbourne more of late, despite the NSW Autumn racing carnival being in full swing - and despite being a proud New South Welshwoman, she is not interested in any sort of State vs State battle. 

'I personally don't have any tug-of-war. I personally think the states should work together and it's a great travesty what's happened,' Waterhouse said on RSN Radio on Tuesday, speaking from the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sales in Sydney.

'To think the Guineas are on the same day for both Victoria and NSW - the powers that be should show some common sense.

'They are ratbags at present, because they are not putting enough thought into programming to make the carnivals work. 

'Why should you have two Group 1 classic races on the same day, and that's just one example.'

Waterhouse is of course from one of Australian racing's most famous and successful families.

Waterhouse is part of one of Australia's most famous racing families. Husband Rob (centre) and son Tom (right) are two of the country's most high-profile bookmakers

One of V'landys' pet projects has been the $15million Everest at Randwick (pictured is Giga Kick winning the 2022 edition) in what has been a huge shake-up for racing 

She is the daughter of Tommy 'TJ' Smith, one of the greatest trainers in history, and married to Rob Waterhouse, a prominent bookmaker whose father Bill, who at one point was the biggest bookie and gambler in the world.

Son Tom is of course cut from the same cloth and ran a highly-successful bookmaking operation before shifting focus to the US and the opening up of that country's sports betting market.

So she is obviously a big fan of the grand traditions associated with horse racing - and the long-established calendar that allowed states to run carnivals without interstate competition - that appear to be slowly ebbing away from the fabric of the sport in Australia. 

The winner of an incredible 145 Group 1 races in what is still a decidedly male-dominated profession, Waterhouse trained horses for Queen Elizabeth II and received a private invitation to attend her funeral in the UK last year. 

And she said that's where the spirit of racing still remains alive, well and it's tradition still undisturbed.

Asked whether she thought the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Royal Ascot would continue to be celebrated as one of the world's top races, she felt it would. 

'You now have the King (Charles) and his wife (Camilla Parker-Bowlers, the Queen Consort) is a very keen and lover of the sport ... and I think the tradition will continue on and what a great thing it is,' Waterhouse said.

'What a lovely thing to think you can go to England, and the tradition there that we just don't have in Australia, that's what makes it so fascinating.' 

Gai Waterhouse says there are two main problems with racing in NSW and Victoria at the moment - and she believes one solution is less time in between races

This isn't just a case of a trainer complaining. This is a matter one of the most respected voices in racing over the past few decades saying where she felt things had gone so wrong.

But the famously-outspoken trainer has some ideas on how to fix the two main things that are wrong with racing in NSW and Victoria. 

'I'll tell you two things they do wrong,' she said. 

'They should start races earlier. They should have pony races on first for the children, because that would bring families to the races and get them involved in the sport. 

'They should have races every 25 minutes like they do in the States. People bet more and the race meeting goes quicker.

'As my husband (Rob) who is a bookmaker says, betting only takes place in the last five minutes...so if you could concertina it a bit more, you could make it go a lot quicker and get a lot more interaction.'

Racing this weekend will take place at Randwick as The Championships continue, while Sandown will host the Easter Cup meeting.