The Harness Racing Victoria (HRV) Stewards advise that effective from 1 January 2021 the following Minimum Penalty Guidelines will be applied by the HRV Stewards for breaches of Australian Harness Racing Rules 156(2)(a) and 156(3).
The offence record for each driver will reset on this date.
HRV STEWARDS PENALTY GUIDELINES
1st Offence: Minimum $200 fine
2nd Offence: Minimum $400 fine
3rd Offence: Minimum 2 Week Suspension of licence to drive in races
Please note that in accordance with the provisions of Rule 156(3) when using the whip in an unapproved manner, HRV Stewards will continue to police this rule where drivers utilise the whip on more than 20 occasions in the final 200m, which will be considered to be using the whip excessively and or too continuously.
1st Offence: Minimum $100 fine
2nd Offence: Minimum $200 fine
3rd Offence: Minimum 7 Day Suspension of licence to drive in races
NOTE:
* A drivers offence record shall reset 28 days from the date of the most recent offence and breaches of 156(2) & 156(3) shall be dealt with separately. Any time served through suspension for an applicable rule breach shall not be considered by HRV Stewards when determining any penalty for a further offence. I.e. Any time served through suspension will not form part of the 28 day reset period.
**Where HRV Stewards form an opinion that the driver has not attempted to comply with the applicable rules, a penalty greater than the advertised minimum may be applied.
***Increased penalties may be imposed should the offence occur in a feature race. For the purposes of these guidelines a feature race is deemed to be a race of $30,000 prizemoney or greater.
For further information or any queries in relation to this notice please contact the HRV Integrity Department on 8378 0222.