A JUDGE has signalled he might not send a trainer and a horse breaker to jail for race-fixing but warned the sentence will be one of general deterrence for those in the industry.
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Acting Judge Colin Charteris made the comments after a jury found Cody Glenn Morgan and Robert James Clement guilty of drenching a horse to corrupt the betting outcome of the Tamworth Cup in 2013 to gain a financial windfall.
Morgan, who owned and trained Prussian Secret, was also found guilty of two other charges by the jury in Tamworth District Court following a two-week trial.
The charges carry a maximum of 10 years imprisonment but Acting Judge Charteris said both men should be on bail ahead of sentencing.
“The message has to go out to the racing community that this will no longer be tolerated,” he said. “What parliament is doing is very important, it’s seeking to preserve the integrity of the event.”
The pair will front a sentencing hearing in a Sydney court in July and Acting Judge Charteris said the charges were “not easily detectable offences”.
Morgan’s barrister Peter Skinner said he would submit evidence in the sentencing hearing that “this is very new legislation”.
“My client is a young man, and ... there are clearly consequences to his livelihood,” he said.
Clement’s barrister Rod Clifford told the court yesterday afternoon he would present evidence at sentencing of other similar cases including cobalt drenching which have been dealt with by stewards at Racing NSW, and not criminal legislation.
“It’s a bit of guidance as to what’s been happening,” he said.