The South Australian Racing Appeals Tribunal (RAT) comprising the President, the Honourable Mr TR Anderson QC, has announced its decision on the appeals lodged by trainers Mr Niki O’Shea and Ms Ashton Downing against penalties imposed by the Thoroughbred Racing SA (TRSA) earlier this year.
The charges were laid against them by the Stewards following an inquiry into their conduct on Wednesday 2 May 2018, which included attempting raceday administration to two horses trained by them while en-route to a race meeting at Strathalbyn.
In the case of Mr O’Shea, the RAT reduced the five-year disqualification imposed in respect of the charges under AR.175(aa) – “conduct intended to corrupt the outcome of a race” – to a period of three years on the proviso that Mr. O’Shea agrees to a good behaviour bond for a period of five years, to which Mr O’Shea has agreed. The commencement date of his penalty is 2 October 2018.
All other penalties imposed on Mr O’Shea in respect of various breaches of the rules of racing were confirmed by the RAT and ordered to be served concurrently with the penalties under AR.175(aa).
With regard to Ms Downing, the RAT reduced the two-year disqualification imposed in respect of the charges under AR.175(aa) – “conduct intended to corrupt the outcome of a race” – to a period of one year. The commencement date of Ms Downing’s penalty is also 2 October 2018.
All other penalties imposed on Ms Downing in respect of various breaches of the rules of racing were also confirmed by the RAT and ordered to be served concurrently with the penalties under AR.175(aa).
The detailed reasons from the RAT are available Here.
