IN THE MATTER OF THE RACING COMMISSION ACT, S.O. 2000 C. 20;
AND IN THE MATTER IN THE APPEAL OF
STANDARDBRED LICENSEE, OWNER/TRAINER, JOHN NICHOLSON
Standardbred Licensee, Owner/Trainer, John Nicholson was required to appear before the Ontario Racing Commission pursuant to Rule 6.38.05(ii) of the Rules of Standardbred Racing.
On April 20, 2006, Chair Lynda Tanaka of the Ontario Racing Commission convened to hear the appeal.
Mr. Nicholson appeared on his own behalf and counsel Luisa Ritacca appeared for the Administration.
Upon hearing from the Administration and from Mr. Nicholson, upon reading the exhibits filed, and upon hearing submissions on behalf of the parties, the Ontario Racing Commission reinstates Mr. Nicholson’s licence subject to the following terms:
(a) Mr. Nicholson’s trainer and owner licence will be suspended for a period of 4 months, commencing April 20, 2006 to August 20, 2006 inclusive; and
(b) Following the suspension, Mr. Nicholson shall be on a one-year probation commencing August 20, 2006 to August 20, 2007 inclusive. The conditions of the probation are as follows:
(i) Mr. Nicholson shall attend regular AA meetings;
(ii) Mr. Nicholson shall present himself to the drug unit to provide a urine sample whenever random testing is being carried out under Rule 6.38 at a racetrack at which he is present or programmed to be present, and
(iii) Should Mr. Nicholson provide a positive, improper and/or unacceptable urine sample, it will result in an immediate and full suspension for the remainder of the probation.
The Commission gave oral reasons for its decision which are part of the transcript attached hereto.
DATED at Toronto this 1^st^ day of May 2006.
BY ORDER OF THE COMMISSION ______________________
John L. Blakney
Executive Director
ONTARIO RACING COMMISSION
STANDARDBRED HEARING
IN THE MATTER OF THE Racing Commission Act,
2000, S.O. 2000, c 20
-and-
IN THE MATTER OF: Standardbred Licensee:
JOHN NICHOLSON
BEFORE: Lynda Tanaka Chair
---------- REASONS ----------
Hearing Conducted in the Hearing Room of the Ontario Racing
Commission, Suite 400 Carlson Court, Toronto, Ontario, on
the 20th day of April 2006.
APPEARANCES:
Luisa J. Ritacca Counsel for the Administration
Patricia Latimer Counsel for the Administration
John Nicholson Unrepresented
TORONTO COURT REPORTERS
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2 ---- IN THE MATTER OF JOHN NICHOLSON:
3
4 THE CHAIR: Okay.
5 MS. RITACCA: So, at this time, I propose to
6 provide you with the proposed penalty which the
7 administration and Mr. Nicholson jointly present to you as
8 appropriate in the circumstances. There's agreement that
9 there will be a four month full suspension starting from the
10 date of this order.
11 THE CHAIR: So, it's starting today?
12 MS. RITACCA: Yes. And there would be a one year
13 probation period. And as in terms of probation, Mr.
14 Nicholson has agreed that he will resume attending AA
15 meetings in his area and that he will appear at the drug
16 testing unit when he is at a racetrack and working.
17 And Mr. Nicholson has also agreed that there will
18 be no fine imposed particularly given what we think is a
19 fairly significant suspension period and particularly given
20 the fairly hefty fine that was imposed on Mr. Nicholson in
21 October 2004.
22 So, the administration's position is this is an
23 appropriate penalty in the circumstances taken into account
24 Mr. Nicholson's past conduct and taking into account the
25 needs to send a message not only to Mr. Nicholson but to
TORONTO COURT REPORTERS
1
2 racing participants that a drug violation is a serious
3 matter and refusing to provide is part of the drug rule
4 regime and should be taken seriously and those are our
5 submissions with respect to the penalty.
6 THE CHAIR: All right, so the penalty would run
7 April 20th to August 20th 2006 and the probationary period
8 would be August 20th 2006 -- I'll just put in 2006 to August
9 20th 2007.
10 MS. RITACCA: Right.
11 THE CHAIR: All right. And it's full suspension
12 so, it's owner and trainer?
13 MS. RITACCA: That's right.
14 THE CHAIR: All right. Mr. Nicholson, you've
15 listened to the submissions made by Ms. Ritacca. Are you
16 agreed to the imposition of the penalty as she's described?
17 MR. NICHOLSON: Yes.
18 THE CHAIR: And is there anything you want to say
19 in addition with respect to the penalty?
20 MR. NICHOLSON: No.
21 THE CHAIR: All right. Then the ruling will be
22 issued in the terms we've outlined and that will be fowarded
23 to you. It should go out today because the judges have to
24 be informed.
25 MS. RITACCA: Okay. Yes.
TORONTO COURT REPORTERS
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2 THE CHAIR: See if you can do it today. All
3 right. That concludes the proceedings, then. Thank you
4 very much.
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6 ***************
7 I hereby certify the foregoing to be a true and accurate
8 transcript as taken by me to the best of my skill and
9 ability.
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11
12 Certified Correct:
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14
15 S. Checca, CSR
16 Toronto Court Reporters
17 65 Queen Street West,
18 Suite 1410,
19 Toronto, Ontario M5H 2M5
20 416-743-6801
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TORONTO COURT REPORTERS