On 6 February 2017, the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) heard an application for review of formerly licensed trainers Shayne and Greg Cramp in regards to the 1 March 2016 decision of the Racing Appeals and Disciplinary (RAD) Board to affirm a 12-year disqualification imposed by Harness Racing Victoria (HRV).
On 7 April 2017, Senior Member Proctor, for the VCAT, affirmed the HRV RAD Board’s decision that Shayne and Greg Cramp be disqualified for 12 years.
In arriving at these decisions, Senior Member Proctor stated, ‘The purpose of imposing penalties under the Australian Harness Racing Rules is primarily protective, to preserve the integrity of harness racing by imposing penalties sufficient to deter a guilty party from repeating the conduct (specific deterrence), send a message to the industry concerning the fate of those who offend against the rules (general deterrence) and to uphold the reputation of the industry with the betting public and the general public’.
Senior Member Proctor further stated, ‘This is required to provide sufficient general deterrence and to send the message to all involved in the harness racing industry that if anyone participates in corrupt behaviour they are likely to effectively be permanently removed from the industry. If that is their livelihood, the results for them are likely to be catastrophic’.
In relation to the decision to affirm the 12 year disqualification for both Shayne and Greg Cramp, Senior Member Proctor allowed for the co-operation of both parties with authorities, by concluding, ‘But for that co-operation I would have added some extra years of disqualification’.
The decisions of the VCAT can be found here: Shayne Cramp Decision / Greg Cramp Decision
The HRV RAD Board decision which was the subject of the review application can be found here.
The circumstances surrounding the disqualification are detailed here.
