Covid Breach Results In Weighty Disqualification

TRAINER Glen McKinley will serve a 4 ½ month disqualification for failing to comply with Covid-19 health orders.

Greyhound Welfare and Integrity Commission (GWIC) Stewards charged McKinley with three offences relating to his attendance at the Goulburn race meeting on Friday, August 27 where he did not hold a Service NSW permit.

McKinley pleaded guilty to three charges including that he engaged in conduct prejudicial to the control and promotion of greyhound racing by travelling to the Goulburn meeting (August 27) without a permit issued by Service NSW in contravention of the NSW State Government Health Orders.

The second charge was failing to comply with a lawful order of GWIC Inspector Ms Shaye Barrow to obtain a permit issued by Service NSW prior to travelling to the Goulburn race meeting on Friday 27 August 2021.

The third charge was due to McKinley's failure to comply with GWIC policy that requires persons to obtain a permit issued by Service NSW if they are travelling 50km or more from Greater Sydney for the purposes of attending a greyhound race meeting.

McKinley was disqualified for six months on charges one and three and three months for charge two.

Charges one and three were reduced to four months and three weeks due to the guilty plea while charge two was reduced to two months.

The disqualifications will be served concurrently. 

In determining the penalty, Stewards took into consideration McKinley's good record in the industry over a long period of time, his guilty plea to the charges and the contrition shown at the hearing.

Stewards also considered the conduct to demonstrate a serious failure to adhere to protocols that have been implemented to ensure the ongoing conduct of greyhound racing in NSW and those which greyhound racing participants have worked hard to comply with in protection of the sport.