On 29 June 2022, the Victorian Racing Tribunal (VRT) considered five charges issued by Harness Racing Victoria (HRV) against former licensed trainer-driver Ray Long under Australian Harness Racing Rule (AHRR) 218.
AHRR 218 reads as follows:
A person having responsibility for the welfare of a horse shall not fail to care for it properly
Charges 1 and 2 related to Mr Long failing to properly care for two unnamed two-year-old colts that he was responsible for. It was alleged that Mr Long, between September 2020 and 3 August 2021:
- kept the horses in outside yards without any housing or shelter;
- failed to provide adequate exercise; and
- failed to provide appropriate levels of social interaction or contact with other horses or people.
It was also alleged that Mr Long failed to provide the horses with appropriate cleaning and grooming and allowed their hooves to become overgrown.
Charge 3 related to Mr Long failing to properly care for an unnamed six-year-old stallion that he was responsible for. It was alleged that Mr Long, between September 2020 and 3 August 2021:
- kept the horse inside a locked barn;
- failed to provide adequate exercise; and
- failed to provide the horse with appropriate levels of social interaction or contact with other horses or people.
It was also alleged that Mr Long kept the horse in an unclean stall with horse manure on the ground and which had a misaligned box door and a protruding metal wire, failed to provide the horse with appropriate cleaning or grooming and allowed the horse’s hooves to become overgrown.
Charge 4 related to Mr Long failing to care for a 15-year-old gelding named ‘Scotts Den’ and Charge 5 related to Mr Long failing to care for an 11-year-old gelding named ‘Pedro’. It was alleged that, between 20 July 2021 and 3 August 2021, Mr Long:
- kept the horses inside a locked barn;
- failed to provide adequate exercise; and
- failed to provide the horses with appropriate levels of social interaction with other horses or people.
It was also alleged that Mr Long kept the horses in an unclean stall with horse manure on the ground and allowed their hooves had become overgrown.
Mr Long pleaded guilty to all charges before submissions on penalty were heard on behalf of the HRV Stewards and Mr Long.
Penalty
Charge 1: 19 months disqualification.
Charge 2: 19 months disqualification. To be served concurrently with Charge 1.
Charge 3: 19 months disqualification. To be served concurrently with Charge 1.
Charge 4: 12 months disqualification. To be served concurrently with Charge 1.
Charge 5: 12 months disqualification. To be served concurrently with Charge 1.
Commencement of the disqualification period was backdated to 13 September 2021.
VRT Panel: Judge John Bowman (Chairman) and Judge Marilyn Harbison.
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)