Updated: Urging Penalty Guidelines Refined

Minor refinements to the penalty and enforcement guidelines on urging a horse were updated today by the Ontario Racing Commission

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To enable participants every opportunity to adjust their riding and driving styles to the urging rules, as of January 1, 2011, there will be a ‘reset of the calendar’ for rule violations for all breeds.

This adjustment period will apply to the 2011 racing season only.

The ORC notice appears below in its entirety.


IN THE MATTER OF THE RACING COMMISSION ACT, S.O. 2000, c.20;
AND IN THE MATTER OF THE ENFORCEMENT OF
THE “URGING RULES” IN THOROUGHBRED, STANDARDBRED
AND QUARTER HORSE RACING

WHEREAS new urging rules were implemented by the Ontario Racing Commission (“ORC”) on September 2, 2009, in order to better protect the health and welfare of the horse and for the participants as it related to the use of the riding crop;

AND WHEREAS the urging rules are being implemented;

AND WHEREAS the ORC Review Committee convened a meeting of the Jockey’s Benevolent Association and the ORC Administration which resulted in the ORC Review Committee issuing Report & Recommendations on November 19, 2010;

AND WHEREAS the Report & Recommendations sets out the following:

  1. A statute of limitations be imposed for urging rule violations as they relate to excessive urging and over the shoulder urging to the day of the race.
  2. A reset of the calendar for urging rule violations for both breeds going into the 2011 racing season. The Administration can then determine at some point next year the advisability of extending what the Committee sees as an extension of the implementation process.

TAKE NOTICE that the Director, upon reviewing and considering the ORC Review Committee Report & Recommendations, hereby instructs and directs all ORC Judges and Stewards for the 2011 racing season to consider and enforce the urging rules in accordance with the following:

  1. Alleged urging rule violations shall only be considered on the day of the alleged offence. To be clear, any licensee who wishes to lodge a complaint with the Judges or Stewards with respect to an alleged urging rule violation by another licensee must do so no later than 11:59pm on the day of the race in question.
  2. Any offences determined to be violations of the urging rules shall only be considered from January 1, 2011, onwards. All previous offences under the urging rules shall not be considered for the purposes of penalty.

DATED this 20th day of December, 2010.

John L. Blakney
Executive Director


(ORC)

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