australian-racing-0719
Karakatsanis pair outed
Victoria’s Appeals and Disciplinary Board has disqualified Rosehill trainer Con Karakatsanis and his father Tony for lengthy periods after finding the pair guilty of offences relating to an attempt to stomach tube smart sprinter Howmuchdoyoulovme.
Con Karakatsanis received a nine-month ban while Tony Karakatsanis was disqualified for two years on a total of five charges.
Stewards laid two charges against Con Karakatsanis and three against Tony Karakatsanis, a registered stablehand, after finding tubing equipment in a Howmuchdoyouloveme’s stall at Flemington racecourse on November 3.
Stewards charged the pair with engaging in "conduct or negligence that led or could have led to a breach of the rules” as well as "conspiring or attempting to conspire with another party to breach the rules” after a raid at Howmuchdoyouloveme’s stable before the Group II Yellowglen Stakes (1200m).
The RAD Board found the duo guilty at a hearing on January 21 before handing down its judgement and penalty on Thursday.
Tony Karakatsanis maintained he had mistakenly picked up a bag containing tubing equipment instead of one containing Howmuchdoyouloveme’s hay and feed while the younger Karakatsanis told the panel he did not intend to lock the gates of the gelding’s stable to treat the horse on race day.
However, the RAD Board rejected the pair’s version of events, describing them as "unreliable witnesses” while accepting steward Dion Villella’s evidence that Con Karakatsanis "was in the process of securing the stable premises.”
The RAD Board agreed with RV's legal counsel, who argued both should receive a long disqualification, particularly Tony Karakatsanis as the offence was his fifth relating to breaches of treatment rules.
The RAD Board ordered Con Karakatsanis’s penalty to start at midnight on February 14 while his father’s two-year ban will begin immediately.
Both Con and Tony Karakatsanis are likely to appeal the decision.
Click here for the full RAD Board decision on the matter. The transcript of proceedings begins on page five.
story Racenet
4 Comments | 1 decade ago
Recent Comments
TheDiva 01 Feb | Posts: 11782
8-}
SLIPPERGOLDEN 01 Feb | Posts: 7574
Comically the following from racing news section on the Karakatsanis website Former Sydney trainer Tony Karakatsanis had failed to learn from three previous suspensions and deserved no leniency for his role in the attempted stomach-tubing of a horse trained...
Paulo8 01 Feb | Posts: 242
This pair of clowns are exactly the sort of ***** that are ruining the sport. It equates to animal abuse.
TheDiva 01 Feb | Posts: 11782
If you go to the story on the main page, you can actually click on the link in the last line and go directly to the RAD Board decision.