Will Hulbert, who has lodged an appeal, used the word in a post explaining that his horse would be a non-runner owing to a traffic jam following a series of road accidents
Trainer Will Hulbert: fined £1,000 by stewards(Image: X)
An unrepentant racehorse trainer has been fined £1,000 for two offensive social media posts. Will Hulbert, based in Brisbane, Australia, was due to run his horse Lady Of Five at Caulfield on Saturday but had to withdraw the filly because the vehicle transporting her became stuck in traffic following a series of accidents in Melbourne.
To explain their runner’s absence a post appeared on the X and Facebook accounts of Hulbert Racing, a partnership between Will Hulbert and father Peter. The post said: “Lady Of Five is fine guys. We allowed 2 hours for a 50 minute trip to Caulfield and some r****d crashed on the highway and stuffed everything.”
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A second message said: “They’re everywhere … might go and jump in a machete bin, so I don’t call anyone a p**f.” In a reply to someone querying his choice of words, Hulbert said: “I chose it carefully. Cheers.”
Alerted to the posts, Racing Victoria stewards adjourned an inquiry on Saturday until Monday when they had spoken to Hulbert.
The stewards report said: “Registered co-trainer Mr. Will Hulbert was found guilty of a charge under the provisions of AR228(a) in that he posted on the Hulbert racing social media platform X and the Hulbert racing Facebook page, material which was prejudicial to the image of racing.
“After considering his not guilty plea and lack of remorse, Stewards fined Mr. Hulbert the sum of $2000. Mr. Hulbert was advised of his rights of appeal.”
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Chief steward Rob Montgomery told Racenet.com : “There have been previous breaches but not in relation to that type of language. The fine is probably a little higher than others we’ve had but it is offensive when you use those words on social media.”
He added: “It’s just not on. It’s bad for the image of racing.”
Montgomery said Will Hulbert “didn’t show any remorse”, adding, “Imagine if it was one of your family members involved in that car crash. You don’t know the impact on people, it’s horrible.”
Hulbert’s lawyer Corey Cullen said an appeal would be lodged on Tuesday and he would take on the case free of charge “because it’s an absolute joke”, adding the fine was “massively over the top for not doing anything wrong”.
Hulbert said he was “shocked and appalled” at the fine. “I just want to know who complained to them and said it was offensive,” he said. “Probably some purple-haired weirdo who identifies as a cat.”