Horse Racing Appeal Panel
90 Sheppard Avenue East
Suite 300
Toronto ON M2N 0A4
Comité d’appel des courses de chevaux
90, avenue Sheppard Est
Bureau 300
Toronto ON M2N 0A4
HORSE RACING APPEAL PANEL
TORONTO, ONTARIO – APRIL 14, 2026
TB HRAP 06007 2026
NOTICE OF DECISION
IN THE MATTER OF THE HORSE RACING LICENCE ACT, S.O. 2015 C. 38 Sched. 9;
AND IN THE MATTER OF AN APPEAL BY JOSIE CARROLL
OF THOROUGHBRED RULING NUMBER 3404755
Date of Issue:
April 14, 2026
Horse Racing Appeal Panel (Panel):
Dan McMahon
Registrar’s Representative:
Jason Portuondo
Appellant:
Josie Carroll
Decision:
The Panel grants the appeal for the reasons set out below.
WHEREAS Josie Carroll (“CARROLL”) is licensed with the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (“Commission”) as a Trainer, Licence Number 112879;
AND WHEREAS on October 11, 2025, CARROLL was the trainer of the horse, “NOBURU”,
AND WHEREAS on October 13, 2025, Commission Racing Officials issued Thoroughbred Ruling Number 3404755 after determining that the horse “NOBURU” interfered with other horses in the vicinity of the quarter pole in Race 8 at Woodbine Racetrack on October 11, 2025;
AND WHEREAS NOBURU finished third but was disqualified and declared unplaced as three horses with which it interfered had fallen and unseated their riders, thus failing to finish the race;
AND WHEREAS on October 23, 2025, CARROLL filed a Notice of Appeal and a Notice of Motion requesting a stay with the Panel to which the Registrar consented;
AND WHEREAS on December 11, 2025, the Panel granted the motion for a stay, on consent;
AND WHEREAS on March 18, 2026, the Panel convened to hear the appeal, reserving its decision;
TAKE NOTICE that the Panel grants the appeal for the reasons set out below.
The Panel’s Reasons for Decision are attached to this Notice.
DATED on this 14th day of April, 2026.
Dan McMahon, Member
Horse Racing Appeal Panel
DECISION - Josie Carroll
This is the appeal of Josie Carroll of Thoroughbred ruling #3433585 dealing with the placing in Race number 8 on October 11, 2025 at Woodbine Race Racetrack.
The Registrar was represented by Jason Portuondo and the Appellant was assisted by Glenn Sikura who was one of the owners of the number 8 Horse NOBURO, who was ridden by Fraser Aebly.
The Registrar called two witnesses, Sahin Civaci, the jockey of the number 3 horse, and Race Official Scott Ksionzyk.
The Appellant Josie Carroll testified on her own behalf and called the rider of her horse (#8) namely, Fraser Aebly.
The significant testimony with respect of this matter was as follows.
Savin Civaci indicated that Fraser Aebly (#8) made a “bad judgement call and took his horse to the outside.” He further indicated there was nothing he could do to prevent his horse from going down. He testified that Fraser Aebly was pulling on his left rein because his horse had moved out to the right and according to Civaci, this meant that Aebly was taking corrective action.
He further indicated that his horse’s shoulder had come into contact with Fraser Aebly’s horse, but did add that the horse’s heels may have clipped. It should be noted that there was nothing in the race official’s notes after the race when they spoke with Civaci ,that Civaci had said nothing whatsoever about Fraser Aebly’s horse touching the shoulder of his (Civaci’s) horse.
Regarding the accident, Race Official Scott Ksionzyk indicated in his notes to “see report”. It was only after the report was completed that there was a notation that Civaci said “Aebly’s horse was coming out, clipped heels.” He then added that “[Aebly]…kept his horse straight.”
There is no mention of the reference in the notes of Race Official Al Stiff where Sahin Civaci said “… #8 (Aebly) was all over the place and caught his heel.” He added on page 2 of three that Aebly said he “kept his horse straight.”
It is concerning that it appears that not only were his notes exceptionally brief in nature, but they were written after his report was complete. This fact leads to the conclusion that his notes were not made contemporaneously to the event nor as detailed as they could have been if they had been made at the time of the event.
He stated clearly that the race officials’ decision was essentially based on what Sahin Civaci said because you really can’t see anything as far as Aebly’s horse moving to the outside from the videos. He acknowledged that it was a “very difficult call” and he thought that Aebly grabbing the left rein was a corrective measure as opposed to what a jockey you would do when going through a turn.
The Appellant Josie Carroll took the stand and confirmed that the video clips were of little assistance in determining exactly what happened because of the poor angles from which the videos were taken. She was adamant that her jockey had absolutely not done anything wrong. She further indicated that upon viewing the tapes it was apparent that prior to the spill, the horse being ridden by Civaci displayed erratic conduct on two or three occasions. This, she said, was consistent with a field of two year-old horses that are unpredictable.
Lastly, she made the point that around about the time of the event there were two or three other jockeys who like Frazer Aebly were “steering” their horses with the left rein as they were going around a corner and that’s what you’re supposed to do.
Fraser Aebly took the stand and indicated, “I felt I maintained a straight course.” It was his opinion that he did not cause the accident, which, of course, is consistent with the fact that he did not receive any penalty with respect to his ride in that race.
All four of the witnesses referred extensively to the video clips that were played many times.
Having heard the evidence and reviewed my notes with respect to the testimony of the witnesses, I make the following findings;
The video evidence is of little use because of the camera angles.
No witness other than Sahin Civaci would say with certainty that Fraser Aebly’s horse moved
to the outside.
- Jockey Savin Civaci after the race indicated to the race officials that the horse being ridden by
Fraser Aebly “was all over the place “. This did not appear to be the case after a thorough
review of the films and from hearing from the witnesses.
- I accept without reservation the testimony of the Appellant Josie Carroll. She gave her testimony in a very clear and straightforward manner and relied upon her many years of experience as an accomplished horse person. She stated clearly as did some of the other witnesses that you really can’t see from the video that the horse “came out.” If anything, the jockeys at the corner were taking hold of their left reins as that is what is expected and required when you are going around the corner with a thoroughbred racehorse.
In conclusion, I am not satisfied that the Registrar has met the onus of proof required and accordingly the appeal is allowed. The purse is to be redistributed on the understanding that the Horse of Josie Carroll finished third and should receive the appropriate purse monies.