RV Stewards' Report - Donalds Racing

Racing Victoria (RV) Stewards today formally charged and penalised Alex Vinar and Todd Hughes, Directors of Donalds Racing Pty Ltd, for breaching horse syndication regulations between January 2023 and February 2024.

Following the conclusion of an RV investigation, Messrs. Vinar and Hughes pleaded guilty at an inquiry to nine breaches of Syndicate Rules (SR) 9(3) and 9(1)(a) and were fined a total of $20,000 by RV Stewards.

The breaches occurred during the period when Donalds Racing Pty Ltd was an Authorised Representative permit-holder under Stable Connect Limited and continued after the termination of that permit on 1 November 2023 by Stable Connect Limited. 

The relevant rules state:

• "Promoters must obtain approval from a PRA for each Product Disclosure Statement prior to an offer of shares in a horse being made."; and 
• “Any person who wants to make an offer to promote shares in a horse/s must: hold an Australian Financial Services Licence (“AFSL”) issued by ASIC”.

In determining the penalties, Stewards took into account the guilty pleas of Messrs Vinar and Hughes, as well as the fact that the offences involved multiple share offers for six different horses over a period of more than one year. Of the total fine, $10,000 has been suspended for a period of two years.