On Tuesday, March 7, a North American racing commission handed down a default judgment of a 15-year suspension and a $40,000 fine to a Standardbred trainer after he failed to request a trial into the matter at hand.
According to an article by The Herald Bulletin, trainer Bobby Brower had failed to request a trial by a 20-day deadline, thus the Indiana Horse Racing Commission handed down its ruling.
It was reported in November of 2016 that trainer Bobby Brower was fighting allegations that he beat a horse (B Abland) after it had collapsed at Pace Setter Farm, which is located in Anderson, Indiana.
According to The Herald Bulletin, Brower’s attorney, Pete Sacopulos, had argued that Brower should have a chance to defend himself in court because of the seriousness of the allegations. Sacopulos was also cited as saying that he was under the impression that entering a not-guilty plea acted as the request for a trial.
In November, Brower said that B Abland had trained at the farm on the day in question "and he slipped and fell on the wet pavement." The trainer stated that a whip was used once on the gelding’s rear in order to get him up. B Abland did get up, but fell once again. Brower said that others were helping him try to get the horse up by jumping and stomping around him (in an effort to get B Abland to get up). "A horse will just lay there and hurt itself," Brower said in November. He also went on to state that the charges were due to jealousy within the industry. "The incident has really been blown out of proportion," he said, adding, "I'm going to fight this to the max."
(With files from The Herald Bulletin)