Trainer Anthony and Sam Freedman will miss the remainder of the racing season after being disqualified for just 28 days and fined $1500 in their long-running race-day treatment saga.
The father-and-son Freedman team pleaded guilty to three charges involving the use of a nebuliser on Kira and Moonhaven when they were scheduled to race that day in August last year, and for failing to keep proper treatment records.
The race-day treatment offences carry a mandatory six-month disqualification, but in the Freedmans’ case there were special circumstances due to their co-operation and early guilty plea.
The Freedmans were given 28-day disqualifications on both treatment charges, to be served concurrently, and fined $1500 for the treatment records offence.
Victorian Racing Tribunal chairman Peter Reardon handed down the penalty on Wednesday, saying it should not be seen as a precedent going forward and that all trainers were now on notice to ensure their staff were properly trained in racing’s rules relating to race-day treatment.
He said a certain slackness had existed in the systems at the Freedmans’ Cranbourne stable and there was a lack of understanding among staff of the rules relating to race-day treatments.
The Freedmans’ lawyer, Matthew Stirling, argued for a fine, claiming the treatments were an “unfortunate combination of circumstances” that should be put down to “human error” by staff.
He told the inquiry the treatments were “purely therapeutic” and had been legitimately prescribed by a veterinarian due to the respective horses’ respiratory issues, outside of raceday.
Greg Buchhorn, who acted for Racing Victoria, pointed out that the race-day treatment offences carried a mandatory disqualification.
“The charges relate to two horses, so it’s not simply a case of a one-off mistake,” he said.
The Freedmans issued a statement after the verdict confirming Clayton Douglas would deputise for them during the disqualification.
“The outcome of the June proceeding (announced today) has seen that both Anthony and Sam will be disqualified from training for a period of 28 days, commencing from Thursday, 2 July,” it read.
“Although the team are understandably disappointed by the penalties imposed, we have both accepted the outcome and have confidence in the respected and competent team who will manage the operation during the interim period.
“Importantly, the stables will continue to operate throughout the provisional period under the management of licensed trainer Clayton Douglas.
“The care, training and welfare of the horses will remain unchanged, and owners can be assured that, under Clayton’s leadership, their horses will continue to receive the same level of attention and professionalism they have come to expect from our team.
“We would like to publicly state that we stand by our stable staff. They work long hours, take pride in their work and are fully committed to the care and wellbeing of our bloodstock.
“Our priority is ensuring the team continues to cooperate with Racing Victoria to meet its requirements throughout the interim period, while managing a seamless transition for bloodstock, staff and owners.
“We are both looking forward to the opportunity to be relicensed and getting back to work.”
