The barrister defending the ABC against claims it defamed sporting supremo Peter V'landys says it's "rubbish" to suggest the network acted maliciously.
"It is misconceived rubbish that they had the intention put forward," Sandy Dawson SC told the Federal Court on Thursday.
He made the statement during a discussion on the extent of his cross-examination of Mr V'landys.
The two-day trial was due to conclude on Thursday, but will now resume on October 14, when the Racing NSW chief executive's cross-examination will continue.
Mr V'landys, who also chairs the board of the Australian Rugby League Commission, claims the public broadcaster defamed him during an October 2019 expose on the slaughter of retired racehorses.
He also says the ABC acted with malice, by not showing him distressing footage central to the report and allegedly setting out to defame him.
The ABC is defending all claims and maintains copies of The Final Race on its website.
Mr Dawson, who is also defending the Walkley Award-winning journalist behind the report, said the malice claims were raised late and required him to explore more areas when questioning Mr V'landys.
He's earlier questioned Mr V'landys about the barrage of emails Racing NSW received when the report aired on ABC flagship 730.
The racing boss' barrister on Wednesday read out a crude selection of emails he said were part of a "firestorm of abuse".
But Mr Dawson pointed to far less volatile emails including one that criticised Mr V'landys for not knowing what was happening with the retired racehorses.
The racing boss accepted the ABC report, exposing the slaughter of hundreds of retired racehorses at an abattoir in 22 days, was a matter of concern for the racing industry.
But he repeatedly refused to characterise it as an integrity issue, stanchly defending his organisation's efforts to track racehorses from cradle to grave and prevent them ending up in abattoirs or knackeries.
"They don't in NSW," Mr V'landys said.
Mr Dawson suggested Mr V'landys' primary driver in improving equine welfare was preventing a perception Racing NSW viewed racehorses as disposable.
"My prime reason is the love of the horse, the affection of the horse," the Racing NSW chief executive replied.
The Final Race special report featured footage recorded by hidden cameras of ex-racehorses being slaughtered in the Meramist abattoir in Queensland.
Mr V'landys alleges the ABC failed to make clear he had no jurisdiction over Queensland and therefore caused his reputation as a regulator to be undermined and his reputation to be brought into public disrepute, ridicule and contempt.
