Catalin Tripon

The appellant trainer appealed a nine-month suspension and $5,000 fine imposed after his horse tested positive for Oxycodone.

The official sample consisted of three blood vials.

While one vial tested positive for trace amounts of the drug, the other two vials tested negative.

The panel accepted expert evidence that it is physiologically impossible for a continuous blood draw to distribute a drug into only one vial, concluding the single positive vial must have been contaminated.

The appeal was allowed and the penalties were set aside.

The appellant appealed the Director's Notice of Proposed Order to Refuse to Issue a licence to him.

The appellant failed to appear at the hearing.

The Ontario Racing Commission dismissed the appeal due to the appellant's failure to appear and present his position.

The appellants, a trainer and a veterinarian, appealed suspensions and fines imposed after a horse tested positive for mepivacaine.

The panel found that the appellants had followed the Canadian Pari-Mutuel Association guidelines and exercised an exemplary standard of care.

The panel allowed the appeals, eliminated the suspensions and fines, and restored the horse's original placing in the race.

Michelle Redel appealed a Notice of Proposed Order refusing to renew her racing licence due to past criminal charges, including animal cruelty and assault.

The parties reached an Agreed Statement of Facts and Joint Submission for Disposition.

Redel withdrew her appeal and licence application, agreeing not to reapply until June 2016 and to comply with her probation orders.

The Ontario Racing Commission accepted the joint submission.

The appellant, a jockey, appealed a ruling regarding his licence.

The Ontario Racing Commission accepted a Joint Submission for Disposition, ordering the appellant to pay an $1,800 fine and execute a five-year Extended Post-Violation Agreement with a zero-tolerance policy for alcohol and drugs as conditions precedent to the reinstatement of his jockey licence.

The agreement included requirements for random testing and substance abuse counselling.

The appellant appealed a decision by horse racing Judges denying trainer transfer applications for six racehorses.

The Judges had denied the transfers under Rule 26.08 of the Rules of Standardbred Racing, citing a positive test and subsequent suspension of the original trainer.

The Ontario Racing Commission allowed the appeal, finding that the Judges lacked the authority to deny the transfers under Rule 26.08 because the original trainer was not actually suspended at the time the horses were under his care or trained by him.

The denials were set aside and the transfers approved.

The appellant appealed a decision by horse racing Judges denying trainer transfer applications for six racehorses.

The Ontario Racing Commission allowed the appeal, finding that the Judges lacked the authority under Rule 26.08 of the Rules of Standardbred Racing to deny the applications.

The Commission held that the two conditions precedent for denying a transfer—that the trainer must be suspended and the horse must be trained by him or under his care—did not co-exist at the same time.

The appellant, a licensed owner/driver/trainer, appealed a ruling that suspended his horse for 90 days after it tested positive for Ractopamine.

The parties presented an Agreed Statement of Facts and a joint recommendation to stay the suspension.

The Ontario Racing Commission accepted the joint recommendation and granted the stay on the condition that the horse provides a clear/negative sample prior to racing and does not test positive for any prohibited drug during the stayed period.

The appellant requested a hearing regarding the Director's Notice of Proposed Order to Refuse to Renew her licence.

At the hearing, the appellant's representative requested an adjournment to secure witnesses and prepare a factum.

The Commission granted the adjournment, marking the new date peremptory on the appellant, and set a schedule for the exchange of disclosure and responding materials.

The appellant owner appealed a 90-day suspension imposed on his horse after a positive test for TCO2.

The trainer's suspension had previously been reduced to 45 days by the judges.

The Commission found that while the positive test was an absolute liability offence, fairness dictated that the horse's suspension should not exceed the trainer's suspension.

The appeal was denied but the penalty was varied to a 45-day suspension.