An Australian trainer who whipped a misbehaving horse at a meeting has been fined $5000.
Caulfield trainer Clinton McDonald admitted he struck the sprinter Vainsky five times at a Flemington meeting last December, but said he had taken the horse to a stall well away from the public.
McDonald had explained to racing authorities that he struck the horse with the whip only after it had reared up and thrown the jockey, and knocked over the strapper.
Steward Brett Clothier reportedly told the disciplinary hearing that a message had to be given to trainers that they cannot take a horse to a quiet spot and deal with them if they misbehave.
McDonald had pleaded not guilty to a charge of acting improperly by hitting Vainsky with a jockey's whip.
McDonald told media afterwards that he felt he had been treated harshly for hitting the horse perhaps four times in the ribs to make him stand up, and once on the nose to stop him coming forward.
But it was argued at the hearing that McDonald should have waited until returning to his own stables before disciplining Vainsky, and that his first responsibility was to the racing industry. It was argued that the public face of racing would be harmed if horses could be disciplined on-course every time one played up.
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