John Macdonald

The appellants, owners of racehorses, appealed a decision of the Stewards disallowing claims of foul for alleged interference during a race at Ajax Downs Racetrack.

The Ontario Racing Commission heard the appeals jointly.

After reviewing the video evidence and hearing testimony from the jockeys and the Steward, the Commission found that there was sufficient room for the horses to move and no interference occurred.

The appeals were denied and the original order of finish was upheld.

The appellant, a thoroughbred licensee, appealed a Stewards' ruling that suspended him for three days and fined him $500 for raising his hand above his shoulder while urging his mount.

The Ontario Racing Commission denied the appeal, finding clear video evidence of the violation.

The Commission also found the appeal to be frivolous and imposed an additional $1,500 fine.

The appellant appealed a decision by the Stewards to disqualify the horse D'Wild Storm from first position and place it second.

The disqualification resulted from a protest lodged by the trainer of the second-place horse, alleging that the rider of D'Wild Storm inadvertently struck the second-place horse during the stretch run.

The Ontario Racing Commission panel reviewed the evidence, including video replays and witness testimony, and concluded that the strike, although inadvertent, did occur.

The panel denied the appeal and upheld the disqualification.

The appellants, horse owners, appealed a decision of the Stewards disallowing claims of foul for alleged interference during a race at Ajax Downs Racetrack.

The Ontario Racing Commission heard the appeals jointly.

After reviewing the video evidence and hearing testimony from a Steward, the Commission found that the horses were not impeded and that there was sufficient room for the horses to move.

The appeals were denied and the original order of finish was maintained.

The licensee appealed a Stewards' ruling that suspended him for one day and fined him $300 for raising his hand above the shoulder while urging his mount during a thoroughbred race.

The Ontario Racing Commission denied the appeal, finding the video evidence clear that the rules were violated.

The Commission also found the appeal to be frivolous and imposed an additional $1,500 fine.

The appellants, standardbred licensees, appealed a ruling that fined the driver $300 and placed their horse from first to fifth for a pylon violation under the Rules of Standardbred Racing.

The Ontario Racing Commission allowed the appeal, finding that the driver was effectively forced to go over the pylons due to the events of the race.

The fine was rescinded and the horse was reinstated to the first finishing position.

The appellant, a standardbred licensee, appealed a 3-day driving suspension and a placing from 3rd to 9th for violating Standardbred Rule 22.05.01(a) by changing course and causing interference during a race.

The Ontario Racing Commission reviewed the video evidence and testimony, finding that the appellant was in too close quarters, resulting in bumping and interference with other drivers.

The appeal was dismissed, and the suspension and placing were upheld.

The appellant, a standardbred licensee and veterinarian, appealed a 6-month probation penalty imposed by the Judges for a violation of Standardbred Rule 1.09.

The violation occurred when a locum veterinarian was acting for the appellant.

The Ontario Racing Commission allowed the appeal and quashed the probation, finding that while the appellant had ultimate responsibility, the locum bore the immediate responsibility for the error, and the probation penalty was unnecessary.

The appellant, a licensed standardbred owner/trainer/driver, appealed a ruling by the standardbred Judges refusing his request to transfer two horses to his own care.

The horses were previously trained by his son, who had been suspended for a TCO2 violation.

The Judges refused the transfer because the appellant and his son were immediate family members and the horses would remain at the same farm, meaning it was not an arm's length transfer.

The Ontario Racing Commission dismissed the appeal and upheld the refusal of the trainer transfer.

The licensee, a standardbred trainer/owner, appealed the penalties imposed by the standardbred Judges after his horse tested positive for Reserpine, a Class II tranquilizer.

The Judges had imposed a $5,000 fine and a one-year suspension.

On appeal, the Commission considered mitigating factors, including the licensee's time in the business and the fact that he eventually disclosed the source of the drug.

The Commission reduced the suspension to six months and the fine to $2,500, while imposing probationary terms on his license.

The appellant, a standardbred licensee, appealed a three-day driving suspension and the placement of his horse from 3rd to 6th for causing interference during a race.

The Ontario Racing Commission reviewed the video evidence and witness testimony, concluding that interference did occur.

The appeal was denied, and the suspension and placement were upheld.

Hanover Raceway appealed a decision by the Deputy Director approving Grand River Raceway's application to race on Wednesdays during the summer of 2010.

Hanover argued this would negatively impact driver availability.

The Ontario Racing Commission denied the appeal, finding the Deputy Director operated within the applicable policy directive and noting that Hanover could mitigate impacts by moving its own race days or benefiting from a trickle-down effect of driver availability.

Windsor Raceway appealed a decision of the Deputy Director of the Ontario Racing Commission denying its revised 2010 live race date application.

The application proposed 86 race days with 25 race programs carded as doubleheaders, effectively reducing the number of race days.

The Commission had previously issued a moratorium on race date reductions for 2010.

The Panel found the Deputy Director's ruling reasonable, as the proposed change was substantial and violated the intent of the moratorium.

The appeal was denied.

Sudbury Downs appealed a Notice of Decision issued by the Deputy Director that declined to approve its application to shut down racing for eight weeks and reallocate race dates within a shortened season.

The Ontario Racing Commission panel heard evidence and submissions from the Administration, Sudbury Downs, and the Northern Horsemen's Association.

The panel denied the appeal, with written reasons to follow.