CAQA Silverstride Racing and Breeding
CAQA Silverstride Racing and Breeding trains thoroughbred and standardbred racehorses for private and syndicate owners and breeds, raises and sells young stock from its own stud. The training stables at Cranbourne hold 68 thoroughbreds in work, the Melton stables prepare 30 standardbreds for harness racing, and the stud at Nagambie stands two stallions and carries around 90 mares, foals and yearlings through the season. Owners range from first-time syndicate members to established breeders who send mares to the stud each spring. The business races across metropolitan and country Victoria and prepares yearlings for the major eastern seaboard sales.
The business is organised into six departments: Thoroughbred Training Stables, Harness Racing Division, Stud and Breeding, Horse Health and Welfare, Racing Operations and Administration, and People, Safety and Compliance. Stable work starts at 3:30 am with trackwork from 4:30 am until 9:00 am, followed by afternoon stables from 2:30 pm. The stud runs a foaling roster from August to December with night attendants on shift, and the harness stables train on their own track from 5:00 am. Race-day staff travel to meetings up to six days a week during the spring and autumn carnivals.
Silverstride operates under the Rules of Racing, the harness racing rules and the state animal welfare and workplace safety laws. Every horse has a treatment record, a movement history and a welfare check log, and every medication is recorded before it is given. The People, Safety and Compliance team runs the incident register, the induction program and the drug and alcohol testing schedule for licensed staff. Stewards, integrity officers and stud book inspectors visit unannounced, so records are kept current every day, not reconstructed after the event.