Harness racing trainer Ben Yole hit with three-year licence disqualification for mistreatment of horses

Prominent Tasmanian harness racing trainer, Ben Yole, has had his industry licence disqualified for three years after a panel of stewards found horses had been “systematically” mistreated at his stables.

Harness racing trainer Ben Yole has had his licence disqualified for three years.

Prominent Tasmanian harness racing trainer, Ben Yole, has been disqualified for three years for “systematic” mistreatment of horses at his stables over a period of “at least 12-18 months”.

It comes after the release of an independent report by Ray Murrihy into allegations of race fixing, animal cruelty, and team driving in the state’s harness racing industry. No criminal charges have been laid.

The report found that a “significant number” of horses were mistreated in the wash bay on race days at Mr Yole’s Sidmouth property and that he had administered intra-articular injections to horses within eight clear days of a race.

Harness racing trainer Ben Yole.

Following the publication of the report, an Independent Stewards Panel was appointed to investigate the findings relating to Mr Yole, 40.

On Thursday, Tasmania’s Director of Racing, Robin Thompson, released the determination regarding Mr Yole and his younger brother, Tim Yole, 36, who was instructed to “razz” the horses at the stables in order to “switch them on” before a race.

Ben Yole pleaded guilty to one racing charge of mistreating horses, while he pleaded not guilty to charges of administering intra-articular injections to a horse within eight clear days of a race on November 26, 2022 and December 2, 2022.

The panel found him guilty of the mistreatment charge, not guilty of the first intra-articular injection charge, and guilty of the third injection charge.

The Yoles told the stewards that the ‘razzing’ occurred about once a week, it lasted for “seconds”, and they stopped the practice voluntarily after they determined it wasn’t having the desired effect.

The brothers also said no horse was harmed or struck, and the level of mistreatment was “very low”.

But the stewards disagreed with this characterisation of the abuse, saying the Yoles had “systematically abused and/or treated horses badly, cruelly and/or unfairly, thereby mistreating them, by participating in the carrying out of a pre-race regime on horses on race day”.

Two brothers, Ben and Tim Yole, have had their harness racing licences disqualified for three years after being found guilty of racing charges relating to mistreatment of horses.

“The regime prompted the horses to become fractious and move, but the confined space and the obstructions that surrounded the horses posed a substantial risk of harm in attempting to evoke the horses’ natural fear response,” they said.

The “regime” was carried out between approximately April 1, 2020 and April 1, 2023 and involved horses being tied to a pole near the rear of the wash bay and fitted with head gear, blinds, and earplugs, which would then be “abruptly” removed to “suddenly expose the horses to sight and sound”.

The stewards found that Tim Yole would then wave a driving whip with a plastic bag attached to it to “exacerbate the noise of the whip, striking the wall of the wash bay and waving the whip in the vicinity of the horse’s rear legs while yelling loudly and making excessive noise”.

“The horses became frightened, and at times responded by shifting erratically causing them to make contact with the rear wall and the tie-up pole,” the panel said.

Ben Yole argued that the panel should take into account his prompt disclosure of “the practices that resulted in the charge”, his admission of guilt to two of the three charges, and the “enormous price” he had already paid.

For the finding of mistreatment, Ben Yole had his trainer licence suspended for three years, backdated to July 29, 2024, and for the charge of intra-articular injection within eight days of a race, he was fined $5000.

His brother, Tim, also had his licence suspended for three years for his involvement in the mistreatment of horses at the Sidmouth stables.

Originally published as Harness racing trainer Ben Yole hit with three-year licence disqualification for mistreatment of horses