Hot on the heels of the successful appeals against their criminal convictions by harness trainer/drivers Nathan Jack and Mark Pitt, another less high profile Victorian race fixing prosecution has last week collapsed.
Victoria Police’s sporting integrity intelligence unit had in 2019 charged trainer/driver Robert Walters with two offences relating to race-fixing in Shepparton on 17 July 2018.
Those charges were engaging in conduct that corrupts or would corrupt a betting outcome, and use of corrupt conduct information for betting purposes. They carried a maximum penalty of 10 years jail.
Police alleged Walters:
– Drove his horse, Kash, over the 2190m trot in a manner that did not provide it the full opportunity to win or obtain the best possible placing;
– Manipulated the field positions to disadvantage other horses and give the advantage to his other horse, Paddy Mach; and
– Advised an associate of his intention to “employ specific tactics” so that bets could be placed.
The matters related to the driving tactics employed, with the police alleging that Walters put Kash in a position that hindered trotter Springfield Tattoo, and cleared the way for Paddy Mach to win, although they were unable to present any evidence that Walters had benefited financially from the claimed fix.
The police case was very weak and tenuous from the outset, and should never have been launched or proceeded with at all. But it was, and as a result Walters has lost almost 4 years of his professional life, incurred huge unnecessary legal bills, and suffered untold personal damage and harm to he and his family.
Despite all the weakness of the evidence, the police dragged the case out until last week, putting Robert Walters through hell.
On the 24th of February 2022 the Crown lodged a notice of discontinuance in the County Court, meaning that the police finally put their hands up and said we don’t have a case at all.
It is unknown if this decision was impacted by the legal case Nathan Jack is taking against the HRV Integrity Department and its former chief Brent Fisher, in relation to the manner in which it allegedly mis-dealt with information during proceedings against him.
It is also not known whether Walters was awarded his costs.
We can only hope so.