On 26 February 2020, the Victorian Racing Tribunal (VRT) considered a charge issued by Harness Racing Victoria (HRV) Stewards against licensed trainer-driver George Schembri under Australian Harness Racing Rule (AHRR) 190(1).
AHRR 190(1) reads as follows:
A horse shall be presented for a race free of prohibited substances.
The charge related to a urine sample collected from the horse ‘Dangerous Women’ prior to competing in Race 5, the ‘Empire Stallions Vicbred Platinum Country Series L (2nd Heat)’, at the Bendigo harness racing meeting on 23 April 2019. Racing Analytical Services Limited (RASL) reported the sample contained cobalt in excess of the allowable threshold.
Mr Schembri was also charged with a breach of AHRR 190B(1) being that he failed to keep and maintain a log book in accordance with the rules.
Mr Schembri pleaded guilty to both charges before submissions on penalty were heard from the HRV Stewards and Mr Schembri.
Penalty
Charge 1 - AHRR 190(1) – 12-month suspension of all licenses, 6 months of which is to be served concurrently with a 15-month disqualification currently being served by Mr Schembri. The suspension was deemed to commence at midnight on 1 June 2020.
Charge 2 - AHRR 190B(1) – $250 fine.
The VRT also ordered that, under AHRR 195, ‘Dangerous Women’ be disqualified from Race 5 at Bendigo on 23 April 2019 and that the placings be amended accordingly. Further to that, the VRT ordered that, under AHRR 200(1), any prizemoney won by ‘Dangerous Women’ from the race be refunded to HRV.
VRT Panel: Judge John Bowman (Chairman), Judge Graeme Hicks and Judge Marilyn Harbison.
The written decisions of the VRT can be found here.
(Please note that VRT Decisions will generally be published within 7-10 days of the date of hearing)
