On 4 July 2023, the Victorian Racing Tribunal (VRT) considered four charges issued by Harness Racing Victoria (HRV) Stewards against licensed trainer Paul Parsons under Australian Harness Racing Rules (AHRR) 187(2) and 187(6).
Charges 1, 2 and 3 were issued under AHRR 187(2), which states:
A person shall not refuse to answer questions or to produce a horse, document, substance or piece of equipment, or give false or misleading evidence or information at an inquiry or investigation.
The particulars of these charges relate to evidence provided by Mr Parsons at the Terang harness racing meeting on 15 September 2021. During an inquiry conducted on that night, Mr Parsons gave knowingly false or misleading evidence regarding Mr Robert Cachia’s name (said by him to be ‘William Smith’), Mr Cachia’s phone number (stating that he did not have it) and the name of Mr Cachia’s son (said by him to be ‘David Smith’).
Charge 4 was issued under AHRR 187(6), which states:
A person shall not frustrate or endeavour to frustrate an inquiry or investigation.
The particulars of this charge relates to Mr Parsons modifying the contact name for Robert Cachia’s phone number on his mobile phone to ‘Smithy’, to be consistent with his false or misleading evidence in the inquiry that the name of the unlicensed person that arrived with him at the Terang harness racing meeting was ‘William Smith.’
Mr Parsons pleaded guilty to all charges before submission on penalty were heard on behalf of the HRV Stewards and Mr Parsons.
Penalty
Charge 1 – $1500 fine
Charge 2 - $1500 fine (wholly concurrent with Charge 1)
Charge 3 - $1500 fine (wholly concurrent with Charge 1)
Charge 4 – 3 months suspension, to commence immediately.
VRT Panel: Justice Shane Marshall (Chair) & Judge 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)