On 3 June 2021, the Victorian Racing Tribunal (VRT) considered a charge issued by Harness Racing Victoria (HRV) Stewards against licensed trainer Ken Tippet under Australian Harness Racing Rule (AHRR) 193(3).
AHRR 193(3) reads as follows:
A person shall not administer or allow or cause to be administered any medication to a horse on race day prior to such horse running in a race.
The charge related to a race day stable inspection conducted by HRV Stewards at the registered training establishment of Mr Tippet on 30 December 2020. During the course of that stable inspection HRV Stewards identified that Mr Tippet had administered a medication, namely ‘Oralx B-1’ to the horse ‘Alpha Crucis’ prior to its engagement in Race 8, the ‘Kilmore Trackside Pace’ at the Kilmore harness racing meeting that day.
Mr Tippet pleaded guilty to the charge before submissions on penalty were heard from the HRV Stewards and Mr Tippet.
Penalty
Mr Tippet was fined the sum of $3000, with $2000 of that fine suspended for a period of 12 months.
VRT Panel: Judge John Bowman (Chairman) and Julie Nicholson
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)