- In short: An ABC investigation earlier this year looked into allegations against Tasmania's leading harness racing stable, but Right to Information documents now show the state's integrity office knew about complaints for years.
- What's next? An independent inquiry into the handling of allegations against Yole Racing is expected to hand down its findings at the end of June.
Tasmania's Office of Racing Integrity was aware of allegations of race fixing and team driving against leading harness trainer Ben Yole as early as 2016, seven years before an ABC investigation.
Right to Information (RTI) documents obtained by the Tasmanian Greens reveal a total of 19 complaints have been made to the Office of Racing Integrity about the Yole Racing operation and how it has been treated by racing authorities since 2016.
They range from alleged team driving and animal welfare concerns, to matters concerning stewarding and horse eligibility.
Team driving generally refers to a prohibited race tactic, where drivers from the same stable deliberately stay back or block other horses as part of plan to let a particular horse win.
The RTI documents show a complaint was made against Mr Yole, in regards to alleged race fixing, in 2016, with a further complaint concerning team driving made in May 2022 and another in February this year.
The May 2022 complaint raised concerns "… that a rider had said they were no longer driving for Ben Yole, because he had advised on who to let go past, and who to block".
The documents say that, "when approached, the rider in question declined to confirm this claim".
The February complaint raised concerns about the driving of a horse, Priddy Sublime, suggesting it was being used for team driving.
It is unclear who made the complaints specified in the document, but the document numbers the complainants from "complainant 1" to "complainant 12".
In state parliament on Thursday, Racing Minister Madeleine Ogilvie said the 2016 complaint about race fixing had been investigated by former New South Wales integrity manager Ray Murrihy at the time.
Mr Murrihy is now undertaking an independent investigation of harness racing in Tasmania, after an ABC investigation uncovered allegations of team driving and animal welfare concerns against Yole Racing in March.
Ben Yole strenuously denied all allegations uncovered by the ABC.
The RTI documents show a complaint from 2019 was about the condition of standardbred horse Real Duchess, but the "RSPCA investigated and were satisfied that there was no offence in regards to the complaint".
Another complaint from 2022 details concerns about "overcrowding, lack of protection from the elements and the number of horses that were deceased from the Yole Racing stable since 2017-18".
Ms Ogilvie told parliament that the RTI documents did not include information about how some of the complaints were handled.
"I'm advised that in many, many cases the allegations listed have been dealt with," she said.
She said Mr Yole's stables were inspected regularly by the Office of Racing Integrity and his property was inspected fortnightly by stewards.
"I'm advised that all inspections and audits of the trainer have found that the trainer is compliant with the rules of racing."
She said the RSPCA had also undertaken inspections and determined the conditions did not breach the Animal Welfare Act.
Mr Murrihy is expected to hand down the findings from his inquiry at the end of June.
