Sawyers Gully trainer Darryl Thomas has had two charges against him dismissed after successfully appealing a seven-month disqualification from the Greyhound Welfare and Integrity Commission handed down in May.
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Thomas, who continued training under a stay, took his case to the Racing Appeals Tribunal NSW after being found guilty by GWIC on two misconduct charges from an exchange with official Kira Burnett at The Gardens track on April 25 during trials.
Thomas, one of the leading trainers in the region, pleaded not guilty but was given bans of four months and seven months, to be served concurrently, over the charges, both relating to the alleged use of abusive language.
Racing Appeals Tribunal NSW delivered a 13-page, 81-point finding on Friday in which it upheld the appeal, dismissed the charges and ordered that Thomas's appeal deposit be refunded.
"Essentially, there is nothing that the Tribunal can find that gives that substantial tick of satisfaction to either case," the tribunal decision read.
"The Tribunal does not have that comfortable level of satisfaction, having considered the totality of the evidence, that it should find that everything that is in favour of the respondent can be elevated to such a level that that level of comfortable satisfaction is achieved.
"That is not to reject the respondent's case and it is not to accept the appellant's case. But it is that oft-made remark that at the end of the day, whilst in a criminal case it would be the Tribunal currently appropriately satisfied, in this civil disciplinary matter it is a level of comfortable satisfaction. It is not there.
"That then requires that the Tribunal indicate that the appeal is upheld as it cannot have that appropriate level of satisfaction."
