Testimony continues in Richard Moreau appeal hearing

by Melissa Keith

“His life is hanging in the balance.” 

These were the words of witness Ken Middleton, spoken on Wednesday (July 22) at the Ontario Horse Racing Appeal Panel (HRAP) hearing of suspended trainer Richard Moreau. The Woodbine Mohawk Park announcer, injured in a June 2023 training accident, said that he was at times searching for the right words in providing testimony.

On July 17, Moreau’s former employee Justin Turcotte answered questions concerning the trainer’s farm and Funtime Bayama, the horse at the center of the appeal. Turcotte told Counsel for the Appellant Robert MacKenzie that he had worked for Moreau “off and on 20 years… probably six to eight years consecutive up until all of this had happened” in 2024.

Turcotte said the property was secure, with a passcode-protected gate and multiple security cameras installed after a truck was stolen. He said horses received top-notch care and among caretakers and assistant trainers who worked for Moreau, “everybody loved it, like, nobody quit… It was family… That’s hard to find, especially in this industry.”

When MacKenzie asked about medications, Turcotte replied, “I’ve never seen anybody so strict about medication in my life.”

Veterinary care from Dr. Christoph Grossenbacher was limited to essentials: “I use Chris myself, as a trainer now, and he’s 100 per cent by the books,” Turcotte said.

Funtime Bayama’s owners and driver were unusually involved, said Turcotte.

“I had very little interaction with that horse… Sylvain [Filion] would be there every day to jog the horse, train the horse, but as far as interactions with them [Yves, Justin, and Sylvain Filion], there weren’t a lot,” Turcotte said. “I had 27 other horses that I had to oversee… Sylvain oversaw Funtime Bayama more than I ever did… He was never not at the farm.”

Turcotte told MacKenzie that Sylvain Filion was in constant communication with others about testing and treating the healthy Funtime Bahama.

“It was an everyday thing, doing vet work with that horse… Every week, he would be injecting something different,” Turcotte said.

MacKenzie asked Turcotte why Sylvain Filion “was around so much for this horse.” Turcotte replied, “I guess because he was their unicorn. He was their special horse… [The Filions] had him since the horse was born.”

He added that Sylvain drove other Moreau-trained horses regularly at Woodbine Mohawk Park, yet only spent time on the farm with Funtime Bayama. The Filions had the passcode to the farm gate; Turcotte said that sometimes “they were there before I was.”

Turcotte said that Yves and Justin Filion would show up at Moreau’s training center before Funtime Bayama’s Saturday night races at Mohawk and return on Sunday mornings. When MacKenzie asked whether “any of the Bayama Farms individuals, the Filions, [would] come to the paddock barn” before races, Turcotte said he had seen Yves and Justin “two or three times.” He said that on June 1, 8, and 15, 2024, Justin Fillion was at the track with Funtime Bayama because “from what [he understood], [Yves] was not allowed to leave the province of Quebec… from what I heard, there was criminal charges against him.” The charges were not specified in the HRAP hearing.

There had only ever been one discussion involving Sylvain and Justin Filion, Richard Moreau, and Justin Turcotte, recalled the latter.

“After the NA Cup elimination, they had asked to give the horse a five-litre bag of electrolytes and an injectable shot of [B] vitamins [and iron],” Turcotte said. “They had asked to do it on a Sunday, but Richard refused… We did it on a Monday [to maintain Funtime Bayama’s routine].”

Counsel for the Registrar Brendan van Niejenhuis questioned Turcotte about being interviewed by Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) officials in the Mohawk race office shortly after Funtime Bayama tested positive for DPO in June 2024.

“You said at that time that there were a couple of locations in the barn that wouldn’t be fully captured by the cameras, right?” asked van Niejenhuis. Turcotte agreed.

On Tuesday (July 21), AGCO Equine Drug Unit inspector Brian Sharpe described his role in conducting nine unannounced inspections at Moreau’s farm between June-October 2024, to take blood and/or hair samples from horses. He said that he interviewed Turcotte, Sylvain Filion, caretaker Steve Labonte, Dr. Grossenbacher, and others, but Justin Filion did not respond to queries from AGCO inspector Brad Capes and Yves Filion’s legal representatives said “ongoing medical conditions” prevented him from responding.

Sharpe testified that on June 24, 2024, “we attended [Moreau’s farm] as there was indication that there may be DPO in the original out-of-competition test that was done by [AGCO] inspector [Brian] Nagano earlier in the month. At that point, it wasn’t confirmed, so we went out to collect secondary out-of-competition testing of Mr. Moreau’s horses.”

Sharpe noted that Mike Weber, a senior AGCO racing official, examined information from the inspections, “to determine what role the [listed] trainer had [in] the training of Funtime Bayama.” According to Weber’s analysis of who was performing Funtime Bayama’s care and conditioning, Sylvain Filion was found to have done the most (64 per cent of the duties).

MacKenzie asked that inspector Brad Capes’ Aug. 7, 2024 interview with Sylvain Filion be played as an exhibit during the hearing. In the recording, the driver tells Capes that Funtime Bayama was trained by Moreau.

“I had no responsibility, I just went up there and jogged the horse, [drove] the horse [in training miles], because I love it,” Sylvain said. When asked if he had done anything else, Sylvain said he fed the horse black licorice.

“In Richard Moreau’s statement, he indicated that you were the one that called the shots on Funtime Bayama’s training,” said Capes. “If you did the training, jogging and stuff, what was Richard’s role on Funtime Bayama?”

Sylvain replied that Moreau “was looking at the overall of it.” The driver said he “had no idea” how the horse tested positive for DPO.

MacKenzie asked Sharpe about another exhibit, a written agreement dated Nov. 30, 2023 between Moreau and Justin Filion, who signed as the owner of Funtime Bayama.

“Unfortunately, we can’t figure out exactly [Justin’s] full involvement with Bayama Farms and Funtime himself,” said Sharpe.

In cross-examination, van Niejenhuis asked Sharpe if he “viewed Mr. Moreau as the trainer of record for Funtime Bayama.”

The inspector replied that he did.

“[T]he public wagers money based upon that reasonable belief that the trainer of record is the one with real custody and responsibility for the horse, and regardless of what the public thinks, the named trainer of record takes on the responsibilities by naming themselves,” said van Niejenhuis, citing the rule of racing that specifies that trainers have “an obligation to protect the horse from interference by anyone.”

Prominent owners Brad Grant and Adriano Sorella; Quebec Jockey Club president Sylvain Descheneaux; caretaker Paul Shakes; trainer Brett Lester; and owner/trainer/announcer Ken Middleton also testified, primarily describing Moreau’s character and professionalism.

“For years and years… Richard maintained a level of greatness that I don’t think has been matched,” said Middleton. “It’s unprecedented, but the fact that he had success with clean results… He didn’t want the spotlight; he just wanted to race horses.”

The hearing continues on Aug. 6.