Nathan Purdon charged

On 7 December 2022, the Victorian Racing Tribunal (VRT) considered a charge issued by Harness Racing Victoria (HRV) Stewards against licensed trainer Nathan Purdon under Australian Harness Racing Rule (AHRR) 190(1).

AHRR 190(1) reads as follows:

A horse shall be presented for a race free of prohibited substances.

The charge related to a urine sample collected from the horse ‘Miramanee’ after it won Race 1, the ‘Gippsland Premium Quarries 3YO Maiden Pace’, at the Warragul harness racing meeting on 23 May 2022. Racing Analytical Services Limited (RASL) reported the sample contained arsenic in excess of the allowable threshold.

Mr Purdon pleaded guilty to the charge before submissions on penalty were heard on behalf of the HRV Stewards and Mr Purdon.

Penalty

Mr Purdon was fined $2000, with $1500 of that fine suspended for a period of 12 months.

The VRT also ordered that, under AHRR 195, ‘Miramanee’ be disqualified from Race 1 at Warragul on 23 May 2022 and that the placings be amended accordingly. Further to that, the VRT ordered that under AHRR 200(1) any prizemoney won by ‘Miramanee’ from the race be refunded to HRV.

VRT Panel: Magistrate John Doherty (Deputy Chairperson) and Dr June Smith

The written decisions of the VRT can be found here.

(Please note that VRT Decisions will generally be published within 7-10 days of the date of hearing)

From Harness Racing Victoria