On 2 July 2020, the Victorian Racing Tribunal (VRT) considered a charge issued by Harness Racing Victoria (HRV) Stewards against licensed trainer Jess Tubbs 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 ‘Cash Lover’ after it won Race 3, the ‘Keith Bray Memorial Maiden Trot’, at the Ballarat harness racing meeting on 8 January 2020. Racing Analytical Services Limited (RASL) reported the sample contained the prohibited substance Aminorex.
Ms Tubbs pleaded guilty to the charge before submissions on penalty were heard from the HRV Stewards and Ms Tubbs.
Penalty
In considering penalty, the VRT accepted the distinct possibility that the presence of aminorex in the sample obtained from ‘Cash Lover’ on 8 January 2020 was a result of the horse ingesting plants from the Brassicaceae family found to be present in the paddock where it was housed prior to the race.
Ms Tubbs was fined $750, which was fully suspended for a period of 12 months.
The VRT also ordered that, under AHRR 195, ‘Cash Lover’ be disqualified from the relevant race and that the placings be amended accordingly. Further to that, the VRT ordered that under AHRR 200(1) any prizemoney won by ‘Cash Lover’ from the race be refunded to HRV.
VRT Panel: Judge John Bowman (Chairman) and Member Amanda Dickens
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)
