On 18 November 2019, the Victorian Racing Tribunal (VRT) considered seven charges issued by Harness Racing Victoria (HRV) Stewards against licensed trainer & driver Justin Torney under Australian Harness Racing Rules (AHRR) 241 and 187(2) relating to the lodgement of a lease document.
Charge 1 under AHRR 241 states:
A person shall not in connection with any part of the harness racing industry do anything which is fraudulent or corrupt.
It was alleged that Mr Torney provided HRV with a “Notification of Surrender of Lease” document on which he had entered information and signed under another person’s name.
Charges 2-7 under AHRR 187(2) states:
A person shall not refuse to answer questions or to produce a horse, document, substance or piece of equipment, or give false or misleading evidence or information at an inquiry or investigation.
The charges under AHRR 187(2) relate to the evidence provided by Mr Torney to HRV Stewards during the investigation.
Mr Torney was represented at the hearing by Ian Kitchin. Mr Torney pleaded guilty to all the charges prior to the VRT hearing submissions on penalty from the HRV Stewards and Mr Kitchin.
Penalty
Charge 1 – $4000 fine
Charges 2-7 – $500 fine for each charge (total of $3000) with $2000 suspended for a period of 12 months, providing that during that period Mr Torney does not reoffend under AHRR 187(2).
VRT Panel: Judge John Bowman (Chairman), Des Gleeson & Heidi Keighran
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)
