Angela Casey

The applicants, standardbred horse owners, appealed a decision by Woodbine Entertainment Group (WEG) to indefinitely deny their horses entry into races at WEG facilities.

The suspension followed a positive test for EPO in another horse trained by the same trainer, William Elliott.

The Ontario Racing Commission determined it had jurisdiction to hear the appeal and found that WEG's unilateral rejection of the entries lacked procedural fairness and was based on suspicion rather than evidence of wrongdoing by the applicants.

The Commission ordered that WEG is prohibited from rejecting the applicants' eligible horse entries on a permanent basis.

The applicant, a licensed exercise person, appealed a trespass notice issued by Woodbine Entertainment Group (WEG) that excluded him from its premises following a personal dispute on the backstretch.

The applicant sought to void the exclusion and claimed $25,000 in damages.

The Ontario Racing Commission determined it lacked jurisdiction to hear the matter, as the dispute did not primarily relate to racing or the good of horse racing generally, failing to meet the criteria established in the Sudbury Downs case.

The application was dismissed.

Sudbury Downs Raceway appealed an order by the Executive Director requiring it to reschedule three race dates that were lost due to a labour dispute with unionized employees.

The Ontario Racing Commission Panel heard submissions from various stakeholders and dismissed the appeal, upholding the Executive Director's order.

Written reasons were to follow.