On 14 July 2020, the Victorian Racing Tribunal (VRT) considered a charge issued by Harness Racing Victoria (HRV) Stewards against licensed trainer-driver Joe Farrugia 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 ‘Tiseh Lucky Lady’ after it won Race 1, ‘The Bendigo Club Pace’, at the Kilmore harness racing meeting on 16 January 2020. Racing Analytical Services Limited (RASL) reported the sample contained arsenic in excess of the allowable threshold.
Mr Farrugia pleaded guilty to the charge before submissions on penalty were heard from the HRV Stewards and Mr Farrugia.
Penalty
Mr Farrugia was fined $2500, with $2000 of that fine suspended for a period of 12 months.
The VRT also ordered that, under AHRR 195, ‘Tiseh Lucky Lady’ be disqualified from Race 1 at Kilmore on 16 January 2020 and that the placings be amended accordingly. Further to that, the VRT ordered that under AHRR 200(1) any prizemoney won by ‘Tiseh Lucky Lady’ from the race be refunded to HRV.
VRT Panel: Judge John Bowman (Chairman) and Judge Graeme Hicks
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)
