In March 2022, Stanley Sadinsky was appointed for an additional three-year term as HRAP Chair.
The year presented further challenges to the horse racing industry owing to the COVID-19 pandemic and temporary shutdowns of racing. Throughout the year, the HRAP’s focus remained on ensuring a fair and accessible adjudicative process for all participants while continuing to safeguard the health and wellbeing of our frontline staff, stakeholders and the public.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, in accordance with the Rules of Racing (Rule 3.8), the HRAP adjourned all in-person hearings in March 2020 and turned to electronic hearings beginning in July 2020. Throughout 2021–22, hearings continued to be offered through an electronic format. These hearings are accessible through a secure Zoom platform and facilitated by the HRAP Secretariat. Virtual training is available through the Secretariat to all participants in the electronic hearing process.
The HRAP received a total of 32 Notices of Appeal and heard a total of 36 virtual hearings over the course of 60 hearing days for the fiscal year. In doing so, it eliminated its entire backlog of cases. In the “A” hearings stream, which are usually complex cases with significant consequences, regular pre-hearing conferences have helped shorten the process. With regard to the less complex “B” hearings, the average time from appeal filing to hearing was 48.5 days (down from 96 days in 2019–20).