TCO2 Charge against trainer Olivia Cairns Dropped

The Queensland Racing and Integrity Commission (‘QRIC’) last week dropped the TC02 Charge against trainer Olivia Cairns, and finding of guilt, levelled against trainer Olivia Cairns that she had administered an alkalinising agent to her horse ‘Tickets to Ride’ within one clear day of a race.

Details of the charge and the stewards finding of Ms Cairns guilt were published by QRIC in February 2018 https://qric.qld.gov.au/report/olivia-cairns/. Adamant that she was not guilty of the offence Ms Cairns filed an Internal Review Application and subsequently an Application to Review that decision through QCAT.

The facts of this case were very similar to the recently decided case of Hayes v Queensland Racing Integrity Commission [2019] QCAT 94 http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/cases/qld/QCAT//2019/94.html  in that the test results came in under the threshold of 36.0 millimoles per litre in plasma but QRIC still elected to charge Ms Cairns with the offence under rule 178AA of the Australian Rules of Racing. Their reasoning was that the sample was higher than usual and therefore the alkalinising agent must have been used. Given the ruling in the Hayes matter, QRIC to their credit, have seen sense and overturned their earlier guilty finding against Ms Cairns.

We hope that given these precedents QRIC and other racing authorities around Australia will no longer charge trainers with a TCO2 doping offence unless the test results are above the threshold or there is direct evidence of administration in breach of the rules.

Miller Sockhill Lawyers acted for both Eric Hayes and Olivia Cairns in their proceedings against Queensland Racing Integrity Commission and are able to provide assistance in any racing or sports law matters.  

Our Principal Lawyer, Anthony Miller regularly advises clients on sports law matters. Miller Sockhill Lawyers are located at 10 Aerodrome Road, Maroochydore on the Sunshine Coast. Contact our friendly team today.