On 28 May 2020, the Victorian Racing Tribunal (VRT) considered a charge issued by Harness Racing Victoria (HRV) Stewards against licensed trainer-driver David Aiken 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 ‘Divine Diva’ after it won Race 8, the ‘Alabar Pace’, at the Shepparton harness racing meeting on 1 November 2019. Racing Analytical Services Limited (RASL) reported the sample contained arsenic in excess of the allowable threshold.
Mr Aiken pleaded guilty to the charge before submissions on penalty were heard from the HRV Stewards and Mr Aiken.
Penalty
Mr Aiken was fined $2000, with $1500 of that fine suspended for a period of 12 months.
The VRT also ordered that, under AHRR 195, ‘Divine Diva’ be disqualified from Race 8 at Shepparton on 1 November 2019 and that the placings be amended accordingly. Further to that, the VRT ordered that under AHRR 200(1) any prizemoney won by ‘Divine Diva’ from the race be returned.
VRT Panel: Judge John Bowman (Chairman) and Mr Robert Abrahams
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)