Trot Insider has spoken with a candid and blunt Anthony MacDonald regarding an Ontario Racing Commission ruling which contains a $5,000 fine and training license
degradation for the Guelph, Ont. resident.
"There has been a message sent -- one which I'm pretty sure has been received -- with this ruling. That message is to have an owner's agreement in place," MacDonald told Trot Insider.
MacDonald told Trot Insider that the situation stems from a particular yearling that he and a fellow owner each had a stake in. MacDonald dispersed his stable in 2007 and has not trained since.
"A lot of horsemen, including myself, are not good businessmen," MacDonald said. "I think that you can ask any 10 random trainers if they have owner's agreements in place and four might say that they do."
MacDonald said that the rule pertaining to owner's agreements has been in the ORC rule book for three years now. He said that he does not want to plead or condone ignorance to the rules, but that the ruling in this case has definitely brought the issue to the forefront. He also said that there are many rules in the rule book that trainers don't know about.
"I want to make it clear that I don't think that the ORC is picking on me, but I do think that I've been made an example of," MacDonald told Trot Insider.
MacDonald said that since he hasn't trained horses since 2007, the conditions placed on his training license do not affect him. But when it comes to the $5,000 fine, MacDonald told Trot Insider that he feels it the same way everyone does.
"When I get handed a $5,000 bill, it hits me the same way it does most people," he said. "With my appeal of the ruling, I'm appealing the severity of the fine."
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Once again they are after
Once again they are after the small fish and letting the big one's go.
One of the greates of them
One of the greates of them all Stanley Dancer operated on his word and a hand shake with never a complaint. Sadly it seems those days are done. Oh and by the way the racing commissions and track management had more integrity too in those day!!
I like it !!!!! fine
I like it !!!!! fine everyone
The ORC are acting like
The ORC are acting like school yard bullies, always picking on the smaller guy. Every dog has there day.
I agree Alan, once again it
I agree Alan, once again it appears to be the small guy taking the hit. And a $5K hit is ridiculous - though I'll predict they'll lower it. It does seem though they have better places to look for abuses and extract fines. If they need a hint as to where to look and in what direction I'm sure most horsemen and fans could give them a few clues
Again the Commission drops a
Again the Commission drops a bomb on another smaller trainer. How many of the bigger trainers have they looked into with regards to having contracts with their owners? Its a stupid rule to begin with. Again, I agree with penalizing the guilty but again the commission has displayed their practice of CONSISTANCY. There is alot more going on out there that needs to be cleaned up. But then again, we wouldn't want to challenge someone who can afford to fight "THE COMMISSION"
P.S. How is my $35000 coming?