This week, the Pakistani cricket team has brought the sport to its knees amidst claims of massive corruption and blatant match fixing – backed up by some seemingly damning evidence against key members of the squad. However, scandalous betting plunges and tampering with outcomes is hardly limited to cricket. In fact the horse racing industry has always been forced to deny allegations of shady dealings and criminal activity. But do such activities exist today?

The “Fine Cotton Ring In” of 1982 is the most notorious horse racing scandal to plague the Australian thoroughbred industry. The betting plunge was masterminded by a small group who included leading Sydney bookmaker Robbie Waterhouse and man of the cloth, Edward O'Dwyer.

Fine Cotton, a lowly performed Queensland galloper, was to be substituted with a far better performed and near identical horse. However, things went awry when the substitute horse was injured in the weeks leading up to the proposed race. This hiccup did not deter the greed of those involved. Rather than admitting defeat, breeder and conspirator John Gillespie purchased the well performed Bold Personality who, in appearance, was very different from Fine Cotton.

Bold Personality was bay, not brown, and lacked the white markings on his hind leg that were sported by Fine Cotton. Enter the absurd – and for the integrity of racing, let’s hope it is the only time white paint has ever been used on a racehorse. After being backed in from 33/1 to 7/2, a plunge reported to be worth $1.5 million if successful, 'Fine Cotton' (or Bold Personality) managed to win the lowly Novice Handicap to the delight of many punters across the country.

Unfortunately for those involved, the magnitude of betting on the race raised the suspicions of stewards. Before a cent was paid out an investigation was launched, by which time 'Fine Cotton’ (Bold Personality) was on his way back to the mounting yard complete with white paint dripping from his hind legs. The plans were foiled, mainly by greed, but in some part due to the loose lips of the small team involved in the conspiracy that resulted in punters climbing out of trees at racetracks across the country to back this supposedly underperformed novice.

Flash forward to 2010 and the biggest modern-day racing scandals seem insignificant when compared with those in the 'halcyon' days of the 1980s.

This year, Danny Nikolic has come under investigation for a number rides during the 2009/10 racing season. Nikolic was accused in principle of not giving his horses the best possible chance and passing on information via mobile phone to unsavoury characters who were profiting from the exercise. However, in front of the RAD (the Racing Appeals and Disciplinary Board), Nikolic was cleared of wrongdoing in relation to the major offences and given minor fines for acting incorrectly within the jockeys' room.

Earlier this week, the Tony Noonan-trained Ortensia was stripped of its scintillating Group One Galaxy win in the autumn after testing positive to the banned substance Ractomine. However, whilst being stripped of all prizemoney was a terrible punishment for the owners and trainer, Noonan was not charged as levels of the drug were minimal and Racing NSW stewards could not be certain the trainer had personally administered the drug. This was of little comfort to the owners of the star mare, who are now appealing the decision stating the urine sample tested could have been tampered with.

The racetrack has often been a haven for crime figures who would come to flaunt their wealth and clean their cash. Many such scenes were shown in the Underbelly series on Channel 9. George Freeman, Tony Mokbel, Carl Williams and the Morans were all regulars on racecourses across Australia and their involvement with racing participants (jockeys, stewards, trainers and bookmakers) was closely investigated by the Purana taskforce (a specialised police unit established in 2003 to investigate Melbourne’s gangland killings).

Betting scandal is not limited to horse racing – in 2005, well-known Sydney punter Eddy Hayson pulled off an audacious betting plunge on a midweek greyhound race at the Gold Coast. In an attempt to lure greyhound customers, betting organisations based in Darwin would offer a “home tote” service that paid the dividend declared in the state the race was held.

Hayson placed a series of bets on the now famous greyhound, Lucy’s Light, who at the time was paying $1.10 on the Queensland based Uni-Tab. Just before the bunny was set in motion and the greyhounds sent on their way, Hayson’s offsider, Steve Fletcher, placed bets of $16,000 on other dogs in the field.

As expected, Lucy’s Light won the race and the final win dividend on Uni-Tab was an inflated $13.00 – creating a $700,000 windfall for Hayson and his team. Whilst scandalous, this betting plunge was far from illegal; moreover, a very clever use of the smorgasbord of betting options available to punters.

To outsiders, the Racing Industry has at times represented a cesspool of crime where the mighty dollar is held in such high regard that participants will do anything in its pursuit. However, this is an archaic attitude and detrimental to an industry that has fought very hard to stamp out corruption and drug use through the development of the Office of Racing Integrity.

Six months ago, in March, Mr Sal Perna was appointed the inaugural Racing Integrity Commissioner. His appointment, and the establishment of the Racing Integrity Office, was the result of the 2008 study conducted by Judge Gordon Lewis in conjunction with Victorian racing officials. In short, the Office was set up to stamp out crime and corruption on the racetrack.

When asked if he thought the racing industry was completely clean, Mr Perna told BackPageLead: “The Commissioner's Office has been in existence for a short period and many of the functions are currently in their early stages. Whilst it's premature to provide an opinion at this stage, what is clear is that the controlling bodies are continually enhancing and introducing integrity related activities, both reactively and proactively.”

In the modern era where gambling on sports such as Cricket, AFL and Rugby League is ever increasing, the Racing Integrity Office is paving the way for other industry’s to set up similar organisations to ensure fairness and equality to all punters. The events that have transpired at Lord's this week send a vital warning to all sports in Australia that no match, no shot at goal or any serve in tennis goes by without a bet being placed; and that, as a result, it is crucial they are awake to any sign of corruption.