On 15 October 2020, the Victorian Racing Tribunal (VRT) considered a charge issued by Harness Racing Victoria (HRV) Stewards against licensed trainer Paul Rowse 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 ‘If The Mood Suits’ after it won Race 6, the ‘APG Pace’, at the Tabcorp Park Melton harness racing meeting on 13 March 2020. Racing Analytical Services Limited (RASL) reported the sample contained arsenic in excess of the allowable threshold.
Mr Rowse pleaded guilty to the charge before submissions on penalty were heard from the HRV Stewards and Mr Rowse.
Penalty
Mr Rowse was fined $2500, with $2000 of that fine suspended for a period of 12 months.
The VRT also ordered that, under AHRR 195, ‘If The Mood Suits’ be disqualified from the relevant race and that the placings be amended accordingly. Further to that, the VRT ordered that any prizemoney won by ‘If The Mood Suits’ from the race be refunded to HRV.
VRT Panel: Judge Graeme Hicks (Chairman) and Mr Robert Abrahams
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)