Leading Tasmanian harness racing trainer Ben Yole has had his racing licence disqualified for three years for the mistreatment of horses on his property at Sidmouth, near Launceston.
An independent stewards panel handed down the penalty on Thursday after Mr Yole pleaded guilty to the charge, which stemmed from a 10-month investigation into harness racing in Tasmania by Ray Murrihy.
An independent stewards panel has charged trainer Ben Yole and three others under the Australian Harness Racing Rules. (Facebook: Yole Harness Racing Stables)
The panel described the offending as “systemic razzing” of horses in a wash bay for a period of at least 12 to 18 months.
The report describes the “razzing” as occurring on race days, and involving fitting horses with head gear, blinds and earplugs — but allowing them to see and hear — and tying them to a pole near a rear wall of the wash bay.
The final report states that Mr Yole had instructed his brother, Tim Yole — who has also had his racing licence disqualified for three years — to carry out the “regime”.
The Office of Racing Integrity said in handing down its decision that Mr Yole “systematically abused and/or treated horses badly”. (ABC News: Maren Preuss
)
Tim Yole would wave a driving whip with a plastic bag attached to “exacerbate the noise of the whip”, and strike the wall while waving the whip in the vicinity of the horse’s rear legs while making excessive noise.
The report states that this would cause the horses to become frightened and, at times, move erratically to make contact with the rear wall and pole.
Ben Yole confirmed to the panel that the razzing occurred about once a week, but described the level of mistreatment as “very low” in his opinion.
The independent stewards panel disagreed.
Ben Yole’s property near Sidmouth in Tasmania. (ABC News)
“The regime constituted horse mistreatment of a serious nature, particularly given the systematic approach to the practice, the duration of the regime and the significant number of horses which endured it,” the decision reads.
The panel described the conduct as posing “a substantial risk of harm in attempting to evoke the horses’ natural fear response”.
Ben Yole told the panel that the practice ceased on their own volition, but conceded that they would not have carried it out in the presence of stewards.
The panel found that the practice only ceased because “it did not have the desired effect on horses”.
The three-year disqualification has been backdated to July 29, 2024.
Ben Yole was found guilty of administering an intra-articular injection to a horse within eight days of a race meet, and was fined $5,000.
A total of 15 races were identified for examination in Mr Murrihy’s report, with stewards today bringing a single charge for one race. (ABC News: Maren Preuss)
