Fort Erie official banned for year

TORONTO - Phillip (Pudge) Brown, director of racing and racing secretary at Fort Erie, has had his license as a racing official suspended for one year and has been fined $5,000 by the Ontario Racing Commission.

The ORC order, issued Wednesday, said Brown had violated the rules of racing "by permitting horses to be entered or to race that had not been tattooed and fully identified."

The suspension will run from April 1, 2002, to March 31, 2003.

"There was a proposed order that was put forward that basically outlined the allegations," said Jean Major, executive director of the ORC. "In lieu of proceeding to a hearing, there was an agreement between the parties on a penalty."

Major added that while the ORC had collected evidence concerning specific horses and specific instances, the details will not be made public since there will be no hearing.