Harness horseman Brower's suspension reduced

Bobby Brower, a Standardbred owner, trainer, and driver based in Indiana who was given a 15-year suspension in early 2017 for allegedly abusing a horse, reached a settlement with the Indiana Horse Racing Commission earlier this year that reduced the suspension to four years, according to a ruling from the commission.

The Indiana Horse Racing Commission approved the settlement in a document issued on July 2. The four-year penalty gives Brower credit for time served, stretching back to the original imposition of the 15-year suspension on March 7, 2017. Brower also agreed in the settlement that he would not seek a license from the IHRC for seven years following the end of his suspension.

The initial penalty was handed down without a hearing into the chargers, after the Indiana Horse Racing Commission ruled that Brower and his attorney had not responded to the allegation within a timeframe set by Indiana’s rules. But an Indiana circuit court ruled last year that Brower had “timely responded” to the original complaint, and it remanded the case back to the commission for a hearing.

Negotiations to reach the settlement followed the court ruling, according to Brower’s attorney, Peter Sacopulos, who said that the 15-year-penalty “would have never been handed down” if Brower had been able to defend himself in a hearing.

Brower was charged with severely beating a horse, B ABland, at a farm in Anderson in August, 2016. The 15-year suspension was among the longest meted out by any U.S. racing commission.