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Before the Racing NSW Appeal Panel

Serg Lisnyy
Licensed jockey Serg Lisnyy lodged an appeal against conviction and penalty after being found guilty by Racing NSW Stewards under AR131(a), after his ride on Shimmering Light in Race 3 at Newcastle Racecourse on Saturday, 2 November 2019.  Following the Stewards inquiry, Serg Lisnyy was suspended for a period to commence 12 November 2019 and to expire on 21 November 2019 on which day he may ride.  This Appeal was heard on Monday, 11 November 2019 and the Panel made the following orders:

1. Appeal against finding of breach of AR131(a) dismissed.
2. Finding of breach of AR131(a) confirmed.
3. Appeal against severity of penalty allowed.
4. In lieu of a four (4) meeting suspension, a two (2) meeting suspension is imposed. That suspension commences on 13 November and expires on Saturday, 16 November 2019, on which day the appellant may ride.
5. Half of appeal deposit to be refunded.

Nash Rawiller
Licensed jockey Nash Rawiller lodged an appeal against conviction and penalty after being found guilty by Racing NSW Stewards under AR131(a), after his ride on Moss Trip in Race 7 at Rosehill Gardens Racecourse on Saturday, 30 November 2019.  Following the Stewards inquiry, Nash Rawiller was suspended for a period to commence 8 December 2019 and to expire on 16 December 2019 on which day he may ride. This Appeal was set down for hearing on Friday, 6 December 2019 and the Panel made the following orders:

1. Appeal against finding of breach of AR131(a) dismissed.
2. Finding of breach of AR131 (a) confirmed.
3. Appeal against severity of penalty allowed
4. In lieu of a 6-meeting suspension, the appellant's licence to ride is suspended for 4-meetings. Such suspension commences on Sunday 8 December 2019, and ends on Saturday 14 December 2019, on which day the appellant may ride.
5. Half of appeal deposit to be refunded.

Ben Smith
Licensed trainer Ben Smith has lodged an appeal against the guilt and penalty of charges after being found guilty by Racing NSW Stewards and issued charges under AR232(i), AR232(h), AR245(1)(a), AR240(2), AR249(1), AR227(b), AR252(1) and AR228(b), after two horses were found to have elevated levels of cobalt in their urine, significantly in excess of the threshold allowed under the Rules of Racing. The Panel heard the appeal on 26 August 2019 and, on 30 October 2019, confirmed the findings of guilt.  The hearing on penalty was heard on Friday, 6 December 2019, the decision was reserved.

Grant Allard
Licensed trainer Grant Allard lodged an appeal against the conviction and penalty of 4 months disqualification and $5000 fine after being found guilty by the Stewards under AR48, after failing to disclose the full benefit he received for the sale of I Am Moses to Hong Kong interests in May 2018 and failing to disclose a contingency to be paid subject to the horse winning a class 1, 2 or 3 race in Hong Kong.  A date is yet to be set. 

Scott Henley
Licensed trainer Scott Henley lodged an appeal against the penalty of 14 months disqualification after being found guilty by the Stewards under AR240(2), after two Analysts’ findings of cobalt at a concentration above the level excepted in paragraph 11 of Division 3 of the Prohibited List B in a post-race urine sample taken from Tesarc following that gelding winning Race 9 (Benchmark 66 Handicap, 1420m) at Grafton Racecourse on 29 April 2019. A date is yet to be set.

Steven Thompson
Licensed foreperson Steven Thompson lodged an appeal against the penalty of 12 months suspension after being found guilty by the Stewards under AR139(1)(a) and AR136, after a urine sample was provided and on analysis was found to contain a banned substance.  A date is yet to be set.

Anthony Newing
Licensed trainer Anthony Newing lodged an appeal against penalty of 3 months suspension after being found guilty by the Stewards under AR228(b) after an incident that occurred on Faunce Street, Gosford at approximately 6:15am on the morning of Monday, 18 February 2019. A date is yet to be set.

Michelle Steele
Michelle Steele lodged an appeal against conviction and penalty after being found guilty by the Stewards under AR175(q), AR175(o) and AR175A on 6 June 2017 when employed as a Australian Turf Club (ATC) Mounted Security Division Co-ordinator. On 26^th October 2017 Ms Steele lodged an appeal outside the specified 2 days after a decision by the Stewards. A date is yet to be set.

Daniel Riley
Registered owner Daniel Riley lodged an appeal against the conviction and penalty after being found guilty by the Stewards under AR231(1)(b)(iv), and pleading guilty to charges under AR231(1)(b)(iii), LR114(4) and AR232(b) on 11 December 2019, following a Stewards inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the body condition and subsequent death of the horse Liezhi Mei and a penalty of 21-month disqualification was imposed.  A date is yet to be set.

Melanie O’Gorman
Licensed trainer Melanie O’Gorman has lodged an appeal against the penalty after pleading guilty to a charge under AR240(2) on 11 December 2019, following the Stewards inquiry in to the analysts finding of Lamotrigine in the urine sample taken from She Just Said it following the mare winning Race 6 – Dads for Chinese Maiden Handicap at Armidale on Saturday, 14 September 2019.  A fine of $6000 was imposed.  A date is yet to be set.

Before the NSW Racing Appeals Tribunal

Bobby El-Issa
Licensed jockey Bobby El-Issa lodged an appeal with the NSW Racing Appeals Tribunal against the decision of Racing NSW to revoke his license.  This Appeal was heard on Wednesday, 27 November 2019 and the decision was handed down on Friday, 29 November 2019 as follows:

1. Appeal Dismissed
2. Jockey’s Licence Revoked
3. Appeal Deposit Forfeited

Matt Schembri
Licensed harness driver/trainer, Matt Schembri, lodged an appeal with the NSW Racing Appeals Tribunal against the decision of the Racing NSW Appeal Panel. The Panel confirming the finding of guilt for breaches of AR227, AR232(b) and AR232(i) imposed a penalty of 20 months disqualification.  This Appeal was heard Thursday, 12 December 2019 and decision handed down on Friday, 13 December 2019.  The Tribunal orders as follows:

1. The Appeal in relation to Charge 2 is allowed.
2. The decision of the Appeal Panel and of the Stewards in relation to Charge 2 is set aside.
3. Charge 2 is Dismissed.
4. The decision of the Appeal Panel in relation to Charge 3 is varied by imposing a penalty of 12 months.
5. The decision of the Appeal Panel is otherwise affirmed.
6. Half of the Appeal Deposit is forfeited.

Adam Matthews
Racing NSW has lodged an appeal with the NSW Racing Appeals Tribunal against the decision of the Racing NSW Appeal Panel to uphold an appeal by Dr Adam Matthews against five charges.  The Appeal in relation to Adam Matthews had been set for 3 days from Monday 21 May 2018 to Wed 23 May 2018 at the offices of Racing NSW.  These dates were vacated due to the unavailability of a witness and then was deferred pending finalisation of the associated appeal of Sam Kavanagh. New dates will be notified as soon as they are settled.

Tim Martin
Licensed trainer Tim Martin lodged an appeal with the NSW Racing Appeals Tribunal against the findings of the Racing NSW Appeal Panel.  The Panel confirming the finding of guilt for breach of AR229(i) but reduced the penalty from a 6 months disqualification to a 4 months suspension.  Racing NSW has lodged an appeal on penalty.  No date has been set.