Race fixing and animal abuse found in TAS horseracing industry
A 10-month investigation into Tasmania’s harness racing industry has found individuals within the industry engaged in banned practices such as team driving, race fixing and animal abuse.
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00:00 evidence of team driving, race fixing and serious animal welfare concerns centred on
00:08 the state's and nation's biggest harness racing stable, Yole Racing, based in northern Tasmania.
00:15 It zeroed in on specific races that occurred in 2022 that were the subject of an ABC investigation
00:23 back in March last year. It found that some drivers as well as the owner of the stable
00:30 and trainer Ben Yole engaged in collusion to benefit the stable and to manipulate the
00:37 outcome of particular races. Of the four specific races that the ABC looked into, two were found
00:44 to be in breach of the rules of racing, two others were found to have insufficient evidence.
00:51 But in the course of the review and the investigation, submissions were made by industry participants
00:57 and that's raised another 15 races that are now under the microscope. There were other
01:03 races that weren't covered off by the ABC report that were found to have been in breach
01:09 of the rules for team driving, that is deliberately handing up the lead to a stable mate or another
01:15 runner to benefit the stable and essentially forcing a forced outcome or a predetermined
01:21 outcome of a race. There were animal welfare findings as well, in particular one case of
01:28 a horse that was tongue tied for a race brought back to the Yole stables. Its tongue tie was
01:35 left on for four days, they forgot to take it off. It was then presented to race four
01:40 days later, despite stable hands, saying that it looked like it was about to die. It finished
01:46 last in that race by 260 metres and obviously was under some duress. So other findings as
01:56 well surrounding the complaint process to the Office of Racing Integrity and other findings
02:02 as well. So a monumental review into the harness racing industry here in Tasmania, centring
02:09 on that Yole stable off the back of ABC reporting back in March last year.
02:14 Well those 15 races and a number of other issues will now go forward for further scrutiny
02:22 by an independent panel of interstate stewards and they will determine what penalties and
02:28 sanctions will be imposed as a result of those breaches. Now importantly the Yole Racing
02:34 Stable and Ben Yole the trainer is still allowed to race. He hasn't been stood down despite
02:40 these findings. That has caused some angst in the industry and it remains to be seen
02:46 whether or not TAS Racing, the administrative arm of racing in Tasmania, steps in to perhaps
02:52 prevent that from happening. This report was handed to government in November, it's been
02:57 sat on until the start of February and the Yole Racing Stable has been allowed to participate
03:03 in that time as well. So plenty more fallout to come as a result of this as the industry
03:09 continues to be looked very intensely under the microscope.
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