Patricia Bullock

The licensee, a standardbred owner, driver, and trainer, requested a hearing after the Deputy Director issued an order of immediate suspension and a notice of proposed order to revoke his license.

The licensee had improperly administered a nasal gastric tube to a racehorse, infusing fluids into its lungs and causing its death.

The Ontario Racing Commission found that the licensee's actions constituted cruelty to the horse, even without intent.

The Commission set aside the proposed revocation and instead ordered a three-year suspension from all participation in horse racing.

The appellant, a thoroughbred owner and trainer, appealed the decision of the Ontario Racing Industry Board of Appeal, which had disallowed his appeal of the Stewards' decision not to disqualify a horse for alleged interference during a race.

The Ontario Racing Commission heard evidence from several individuals and dismissed the appeal, with reasons provided orally on the record.

The appellant, a standardbred trainer, appealed rulings suspending his license for six months and imposing fines for failing to comply with death registry reporting requirements and failing to have a written contract with owners.

The Commission found the appellant failed to report the death of a racehorse and transport it for a post-mortem.

The appeal was allowed in part; the six-month suspension and the $2,000 fine for the contract violation were upheld, but the $5,000 fine for the death registry violations was reduced to $2,500 due to the appellant's recent licensing and modest earnings.

The appellant, a standardbred driver/owner/trainer, appealed decisions of the Executive Director and Director of Racing finding him liable for rule violations, suspending his licence for six months, and fining him $7,000.

The Ontario Racing Commission dismissed the appeal on liability but allowed the appeal on penalty, reducing the licence suspension to two months while maintaining the $7,000 fine.

The appellant, a veterinarian, appealed a decision of the Executive Director suspending him for two years and fining him $20,000 for violations of the Rules of Standardbred Racing.

At the commencement of the appeal hearing, the appellant brought motions requesting that the Commission Chair and another Commissioner recuse themselves from the panel.

The panel granted the motion for the Chair to recuse herself, dismissed the motion regarding the other Commissioner, and ordered that the hearing be rescheduled with the Vice Chair presiding.

A veterinarian appealed a six-month suspension and $5,000 fine imposed for submitting a falsified Coggins Certificate for a racehorse.

The Ontario Racing Commission found that while the veterinarian did not directly participate in creating the fraudulent document, he was ultimately responsible for the actions of his employee who fabricated it.

The Commission upheld the finding of liability and the $5,000 fine, but quashed the six-month suspension.

The applicant requested a hearing before the Ontario Racing Commission regarding the Deputy Director's Notice of Proposed Order to Revoke his licence as a standardbred owner, driver, and trainer, as well as an Order of Immediate Suspension.

Following a hearing where testimony was heard from multiple witnesses, the Commission ordered that the Proposed Order be set aside and the Order of Immediate Suspension be withdrawn.

The reasons for the decision were delivered orally and form part of the hearing transcript.

The appellant, a standardbred owner/driver/trainer, appealed a decision of the Ontario Racing Industry Board of Appeal upholding a $200 fine for a driving violation under Rule 22.22.

The appellant failed to appear at the hearing before the Ontario Racing Commission.

After hearing evidence from the Administration, the Commission dismissed the appeal.

The applicant, a standardbred licensee, appealed a ruling of the Ontario Racing Commission.

The Commission ordered that the applicant may be licensed subject to strict conditions, including a maximum 18-month term, quarterly employment reports, random urine testing, and mandatory participation in a substance abuse program.

Any breach of the conditions would result in immediate revocation of the licence.

The appellants, thoroughbred owners and trainers, appealed a Stewards' ruling denying their protest of a race outcome.

They alleged the winning horse carried less weight than required.

The Commission found that a typographical error in the condition book caused confusion, but the winning horse carried the correct weight according to the official Stakes book.

The Commission refused the appeals, noting that disqualifying the horse would constitute an undue hardship and would not be in the best interests of racing.

The Ontario Racing Commission heard applications for 2004 live and intertrack race dates from Rideau Carleton Raceway and Hiawatha Horse Park.

The Ontario Harness Horse Association opposed Rideau Carleton's application, arguing that the lack of winter racing negatively impacted horsemen and the local economy.

The majority of the Commission approved Rideau Carleton's application for 131 live race dates, finding no convincing evidence that winter racing would have a positive economic impact on the track or handle.

A dissenting opinion argued that the application should be rejected to encourage more live racing opportunities, consistent with the goals of the slots program.

A thoroughbred trainer appealed a stewards' ruling fining him $1,000 for being disrespectful and threatening a racing official.

At the hearing, the trainer admitted to being disrespectful and agreed the $1,000 fine was appropriate, but contested the finding that he had threatened the official.

The Commission dismissed the appeal, finding the sole remaining issue to be substantially hypothetical and moot, as a finding on the threat would have no practical effect on the penalty or outcome.

The appellant, a standardbred owner, driver, and trainer, appealed a decision of the Ontario Racing Industry Board of Appeal that upheld a three-day driving suspension for violating Rule 22.05(g)(i) of the Rules of Standardbred Racing.

After hearing evidence from multiple witnesses, the Ontario Racing Commission dismissed the appeal.

The reasons for the decision were delivered orally and form part of the hearing transcript.

Standardbred Driver/Trainer Mark Williams appealed a decision of the Ontario Racing Industry Board of Appeal, which had upheld a $500 fine for a violation of Rule 18.08(a) of the Rules of Standardbred Racing.

The Ontario Racing Commission heard the appeal, upheld the finding of the rule violation, but varied the penalty to a $200 fine.

The appellant, a standardbred owner, driver, and trainer, appealed a three-day driving suspension for violating Rule 22.05(h) of the Rules of Standardbred Racing.

The Ontario Racing Commission dismissed the appeal and upheld the suspension.

The Commission's reasons for decision were delivered orally and form part of the hearing transcript.

Thoroughbred jockey Raymond Sabourin and owner Arthur Silvera appealed a Stewards' ruling that suspended Sabourin for 20 days for careless riding and disqualified their horse from first place.

The incident involved Sabourin's horse clipping heels with another horse, causing the other horse to fall and its jockey to sustain injuries.

The Ontario Racing Commission reviewed video evidence and witness testimony, concluding that Sabourin's horse interfered with the other horse by moving across its path without sufficient clearance.

The Commission upheld the disqualification but reduced the suspension to 15 days.

The Ontario Racing Commission convened to hear applications for 2004 live and intertrack race dates from various racetracks.

The Commission approved the requested dates for Woodbine, Fort Erie, Picov Downs, Mohawk, Sudbury Downs, Kawartha Downs, Quinte Exhibition, Flamboro Downs, Georgian Downs, Grand River, Hanover, Windsor, and Dresden.

Applications for Hiawatha, Clinton, Woodstock, Western Fair, and Rideau Carleton were deferred pending further submissions and review of materials filed by the Ontario Harness Horse Association.

The appellant, a standardbred owner, driver, and trainer, appealed the severity of a penalty imposed by the Judges for a violation of Rule 22.38 of the Rules of Standardbred Racing.

The original penalty consisted of a $1,500 fine and a 120-day full suspension.

Following a hearing, the Ontario Racing Commission varied the penalty, maintaining the $1,500 fine but reducing the full suspension to 90 days.

A thoroughbred veterinarian appealed a Stewards Ruling fining him $1,500 for failing to properly label a bottle of Valium before dispensing it, in violation of Rule 27.20.

The veterinarian admitted to omitting required information on the label but contested the finding that his recommended 36-hour withdrawal time violated the rule.

The Ontario Racing Commission found that the 36-hour recommendation was reasonable based on clinical experience and the information available in 2000.

However, the Commission upheld the $1,500 fine due to the serious nature of dispensing improperly labeled drugs.

The appellant, a thoroughbred owner, appealed a decision of the Thoroughbred Industry Appeal Board that upheld the Stewards' decision to disqualify his horse from first position and place it eighth for alleged interference.

The Ontario Racing Commission panel viewed the videotape of the race, heard evidence from the Steward and jockeys, and allowed the appeal.

The purses were ordered to be distributed in accordance with the actual order of finish, restoring the appellant's horse to first place.