Luisa J. Ritacca

The Ontario College of Teachers brought a motion seeking leave to withdraw allegations of professional misconduct against the member.

With the consent of the parties and pursuant to section 4.1 of the Statutory Powers Procedure Act, the Discipline Committee granted the motion and authorized the withdrawal of the allegations without a hearing.

A jockey, trainer, and owner appealed a stewards' ruling that disqualified their horse from first place and suspended the jockey for three days due to interference during a race.

The appellants argued that the interference was caused by another jockey's whip getting caught in their horse's tail.

The Ontario Racing Commission found that the jockey initiated the interference by aggressively moving his horse into the path of others, which caused the whip to become entangled.

The appeals were denied, the disqualification was upheld, and the jockey's suspension was confirmed.

Thoroughbred jockey Constant Montpellier appealed a Stewards' Ruling suspending him for 150 days and fining him $5,000 for a premeditated attempt to endanger other riders following a race.

The Ontario Racing Commission panel found him guilty of violating the Rules of Thoroughbred Racing, noting he willfully sought revenge against another jockey and endangered the safety of riders and horses.

The panel denied the appeal as to liability but varied the penalty to a $2,500 fine, a 60-day suspension (with 20 days stayed), and directed him to seek an anger management assessment.

The appellant, a thoroughbred licensee, appealed a decision by the Ontario Racing Commission suspending him for violating drug and alcohol rules.

The Commission denied the appeal but, recognizing his rehabilitation progress, allowed him to obtain a limited licence as a groom, hot walker, or exercise rider to facilitate employment.

Upon conclusion of his suspension, he will be placed on probation for one year with strict conditions, including mandatory drug testing and abstinence from alcohol and controlled substances.

The appellant portfolio manager appealed a trial judgment finding it liable for mismanaging the respondent's investment account by retaining excessive short-term investments and purchasing a speculative stock.

The trial judge had dismissed the main part of the respondent's claim but allowed these two specific claims.

On appeal, the appellant argued the trial judge's reasons were inadequate because he incorporated large portions of the parties' facta, and challenged the findings on negligence, ratification, mitigation, and damages.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, holding that while the trial judge's incorporation of facta was ill-advised, the reasons as a whole were sufficient for appellate review and the factual findings were supported by the evidence.

The licensees, a horse breeder and his company, sought a stay of an immediate suspension order issued by the Director of the Ontario Racing Commission.

The Director suspended the licenses based on allegations that the licensees misrepresented the foaling location of a horse to enter it in a restricted race.

The Commission considered whether it had the authority to overrule the Director's decision under section 23 of the Racing Commission Act, 2000 before a full hearing.

Applying the test for a stay, the Commission granted the stay with conditions, finding that the public interest would be protected pending a full hearing scheduled before the next racing season.

The appellants, a Quarter Horse licensee and a corporation, requested a hearing regarding a Director's Order of Immediate Suspension and Notice of Proposed Order.

They sought a stay of the suspension pending a full hearing.

The Ontario Racing Commission granted the stay subject to conditions, including prohibiting the horse 'I'm Quick Say Bye Bye' from racing and requiring veterinary certification for any foals registered for Ontario restricted races.

The appellant, a standardbred licensee, appealed a Judges' Ruling that placed his horse sixth for interference and imposed a three-day driving suspension.

During a Gold Eliminations Race, the appellant's horse came out in the stretch run and made contact with a trailing horse.

The appellant admitted to the contact but argued the trailing driver could have avoided it.

The Ontario Racing Commission dismissed the appeal, finding that interference occurred and noting that the judges had already reduced the standard five-day suspension to three days due to poor driving conditions.

The appellant, a thoroughbred trainer, appealed a stewards' ruling fining him $1,500 for racing a horse without its required blinkers.

The trainer claimed the horse went berserk in the paddock and he was unaware the blinkers were not on until the horse was at the post.

The Ontario Racing Commission dismissed the appeal, finding the trainer had ample opportunity to notify officials of the equipment issue.

The Commission further determined the appeal was frivolous and imposed an additional $250 fine.

The appellant jockey appealed a $200 fine imposed by the Stewards for excessive use of the whip on his mount during a race.

The Ontario Racing Commission reviewed the videotape evidence and agreed with the Stewards that the appellant used the whip repeatedly without giving the horse a breather during the stretch run.

The appeal was dismissed and the fine upheld.

The appellant, a thoroughbred jockey, appealed a $200 fine imposed by the stewards for excessive use of the whip on his mount during a race.

The Ontario Racing Commission reviewed the videotape and heard testimony from the appellant and a steward.

The Commission found that the videotape did not clearly show excessive use of the whip, noting pauses between strikes and a lack of injury to the horse.

The appeal was allowed and the fine was set aside.

The appellant, a thoroughbred jockey, appealed a $500 fine imposed by the Stewards for excessive use of the whip and raising his whip over his head during a race.

The Commission heard evidence from several jockeys regarding the ambiguity of the whipping rules and the pressure to ride aggressively to win.

The Commission found that the appellant repeatedly whipped the horse with almost no break between blows and frequently raised his hand above his shoulder, clearly violating the rules.

The appeal was dismissed and the fine confirmed.

Standardbred licensee William Elliott appealed a decision by Woodbine Entertainment Group (WEG) to disallow his horses' entries into stakes races after he received a second TCO2 positive test.

He also appealed the judges' refusal to immediately transfer his horses to new owners.

The Ontario Racing Commission dismissed the appeal, finding that the judges' normal process for investigating trainer transfers should not be circumvented.

The Commission further held that WEG appropriately exercised its discretion under its rules to refuse the entries, and the Commission would not interfere in what was essentially a private contract dispute absent an overriding public interest.

The Ontario Racing Commission held a hearing regarding the immediate suspension of a thoroughbred licensee.

The Administration alleged that the licensee engaged in a pattern of abusive behaviour, including physical assault and verbal abuse, towards a Commission steward with whom he had an extramarital affair.

The licensee was also charged criminally and breached bail conditions requiring him to stay away from the steward.

The Commission found the allegations substantiated and concluded that the licensee's conduct undermined the integrity of the sport and the independence of the stewards.

The Commission suspended the licence for three years, followed by a one-year probationary period with mandatory counselling conditions.

The appellants appealed a decision of the Thoroughbred Industry Appeal Board that revised the order of finish in a horse race due to a bumping incident.

The Ontario Racing Commission conducted a hearing de novo and found that the appellant's horse deliberately moved out and interfered with the other horse, which impacted the outcome of the race.

The appeal was dismissed and the revised order of finish was confirmed.

Standardbred licensee Sandy Jones appealed a suspension imposed after testing positive for THC Carboxylic Acid.

The positive test constituted a breach of the terms of his probation from a previous ruling.

The Ontario Racing Commission rejected the licensee's reliance on a private hair test to contradict the official urine analysis.

The Commission ordered a full suspension of his licence until August 22, 2007.

The appellant, a thoroughbred owner and trainer, appealed a Stewards' ruling fining him $1,000 for disregarding the directions of an association official on the training track.

The appellant argued he refused the official's order to remove his horses because he believed the directed route was unsafe.

The Ontario Racing Commission dismissed the appeal, holding that a trainer cannot debate safety instructions with the official controlling track traffic during training hours.

The $1,000 fine was upheld to deter disrespect toward association officials.

The appellant, a thoroughbred licensee, requested a hearing regarding a Director's Order of Immediate Suspension.

On consent of the parties, the Ontario Racing Commission stayed the immediate suspension and granted the appellant his license subject to strict conditions, including no contact with Commission Stewards or certain witnesses, and restricted access to Woodbine Racetrack premises, pending a final hearing.

Thoroughbred jockey Dino Luciani and trainer Justin Nixon appealed a Stewards' ruling that imposed a three-day riding suspension and disqualified their horse from first to fourth place for interference during a race.

The Ontario Racing Commission found that the jockey deliberately bumped another horse to create a path, violating racing rules.

The appeals were dismissed, and the suspension and disqualification were upheld.

The appellants, a thoroughbred jockey and an owner/trainer, appealed a Stewards' ruling that disqualified their horse from first to last place and suspended the jockey for three days for causing interference during a race.

The Ontario Racing Commission dismissed the appeals, finding that the jockey failed to check behind him before moving inside on a turn, thereby impeding other horses.

The Commission upheld the violations of Rules 11.07 and 11.09.01, the suspension, and the disqualification.