Tasracing has been blocked by the Supreme Court from issuing new ‘warning off’ notices against multiple Tasmanian harness trainers.
Ben Yole and his brother Tim Yole, alongside Nathan and Mitch Ford, were banned from TasRacing tracks in January following investigations into race-fixing, team driving and breaches of animal welfare.
These findings made by racing integrity expert Ray Murrihy were outlined in the damning Murrihy report on the industry released in January.
The group argues that Tasracing lacks the legal authority to impose bans based on the report’s findings, with their lawyers successfully obtaining an injunction.
In a statement on Friday afternoon, Tasracing CEO Andrew Jenkins said the ruling has left them “unable to take any further action” to prevent the Yoles and Fords from entering race tracks under their control until the matter is determined by the court later this month.
“This is a disappointing outcome but Tasracing will, of course, comply with the decision of the Supreme Court,” he said.
Ben Yole and Co are back racing this weekend because the Tasmanian Liberal Government does not care about racing and thinks it’s fine.#politas pic.twitter.com/VNJ1ENhIe2
— Dean Winter (@DeanWinterMP) March 1, 2024
“I will, as a matter of urgency, write to the Director of Racing encouraging him to consider powers available to him under the Act to address the serious issues raised in the Murrihy report.”
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear their arguments in three weeks on March 21st.
