The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) has handed down significant penalties to prominent figures in the Ontario horse racing community, trainer Richard Moreau and driver Sylvain Filion. Both individuals have received 10-year license suspensions and substantial fines of $40,000 each. These sanctions stem from allegations of administering a banned substance, darbepoetin alfa (DPO), to Funtime Bayama, a three-year-old pacing gelding who competed in the Pepsi North America Cup.
Sylvain Filion’s suspension is effective from October 31, 2024, through October 31, 2034. Richard Moreau’s suspension began earlier, on July 23, 2024, and will continue until July 23, 2034. According to the AGCO’s ruling, horses trained by either Moreau or Filion are ineligible to race unless they are sold or transferred to a trainer in good standing. Furthermore, any horses owned or co-owned by Moreau or Filion are barred from competition. Their presence at any Ontario racetrack is restricted to areas beyond the grandstand. To be eligible for future reinstatement, both individuals are mandated to complete the AGCO Equine Medication Use and Awareness Program.
The positive test for DPO was detected in Funtime Bayama during out-of-competition drug testing conducted by the AGCO on June 10, 2024. DPO is identified as a protein-based drug designed to boost red blood cell production, a substance that carries damaging side effects and offers no therapeutic benefit to horses.
The announcement of these severe penalties followed closely on the heels of Moreau’s 60th birthday. Speaking on November 2, Moreau indicated he was aware of the AGCO’s decision prior to its public release. “I knew everything before they even posted,” he stated, adding, “I’ve been off work for four months. I’ve been fighting for my life, but it’s in the hands of my lawyer.” As of this report, it remains unclear whether Sylvain Filion intends to appeal the decision.
Moreau, who had been the leading trainer at Woodbine Mohawk Park for the current meet, reflected on his career aspirations. He mentioned studying administration and finance in Quebec and working under the late Robert MacKenzie, the 1989 Trainer of the Year in Quebec. Moreau’s own career began with diligent work, initially racing his own horses after moving to Ottawa. He confirmed that Jean-Marc MacKenzie, son of Robert MacKenzie and a lawyer, is representing him in the Funtime Bayama appeal.
Richard Moreau has been sidelined from training since July 22, 2024. He has consistently maintained his innocence, reiterating this stance in comments to HRU on July 24 and on Facebook, stating, “For all of you who know me, obviously, I didn’t do it.” His four trainees scheduled to race on July 23 at Mohawk were all scratched. The AGCO officially announced his suspension on July 24. Prior to his suspension, Moreau had achieved 160 training wins and accumulated $1,799,744 in earnings for the current season, with a career total of 6,947 wins and $64,707,500.
Moreau expressed that if he were to return to training, a significant number of horses would be available. However, he indicated a lack of desire to return to the high-volume stable necessary to re-establish himself as a top trainer. “I don’t have anything to prove anymore. I’m proud of what I accomplished,” he said, expressing no interest in returning to training a large stable in his 70s.
Currently, Moreau occupies his time with listening to music, exercising on a treadmill, and performing maintenance on the training track at his farm while awaiting news of his appeal hearing date. He noted that the appeals process is slow. He is currently renting out stalls and maintaining the track, activities he was already engaged in. Moreau emphasized his commitment to operating by the book, stating, “I’m by the books and the last thing I want is to get myself in trouble.” He respectfully declined to discuss the specifics of the Funtime Bayama case, his fine, or his suspension.
Reflecting on past challenges, Moreau mentioned, “I’ve been fighting Lasix positives. Meanwhile, I win them all.” He referred to an August 20, 2024, decision by the Ontario Horse Racing Appeal Panel (HRAP) that set aside his $2,500 fines related to the disqualification of the pacer Real Willey in June and July 2023. Although the disqualifications were upheld, the appeal was dismissed. Real Willey was under the AGCO’s Exercise Induced Pulmonary Haemorrhage (EIPH) program at the time of the Lasix overages.
Despite these setbacks, Moreau, a ten-time O’Brien Trainer of the Year award winner (2013-22), looked back with a sense of accomplishment. “I finally made it. I lived the dream,” he told HRU. He expressed disappointment that he was not eligible for the O’Brien Awards the previous year due to ongoing Lasix positive cases, and similarly, for the Canadian Hall of Fame induction. He also noted that the horses he recently trained are not permitted to be stabled on his farm.
Moreau vehemently denied administering DPO to Funtime Bayama, stating, “I would never even consider using it, but it’s hard to prove me out of it.” He refrained from speculating on how the drug might have entered the horse, adding, “I don’t even know what the package looks like.” He concluded his remarks by stating, “I don’t want to throw nobody under the bus. Meanwhile, we have to be patient.”
Dr. Karin Schnarr, AGCO Registrar and CEO, issued a statement alongside the ruling, emphasizing the AGCO’s dedication to horse welfare and the integrity of racing. “The AGCO is committed to protecting the health and wellbeing of Ontario’s racehorses and maintaining the fairness and integrity of racing. Performance-enhancing substances have no business in the sport and their administration can lead to severe consequences for licence holders.”
The AGCO’s ruling identified Sylvain Filion as the de facto trainer and Moreau as the listed trainer for Funtime Bayama, deeming both responsible based on “an inspection into the circumstances surrounding the positive test.”
Funtime Bayama was previously owned by Yves Filion, Sylvain Filion’s father, before being sold. The ownership transfer occurred on June 20, 2024, preceding the official results of the June 10 drug test. The horse is currently owned by William Pollock and Bruce Areman of Freehold, NJ, along with trainer Andrew Harris of Allentown, NJ. Funtime Bayama has been suspended from racing by the AGCO from June 24 to December 24, 2024. Andrew Harris, when contacted on August 2, stated that he had been advised by legal counsel not to comment on the situation and confirmed that Funtime Bayama, who had not raced since July 13, remained in New Jersey.
Moreau had trained Funtime Bayama from his winning debut qualifier at Woodbine Mohawk Park on July 7, 2023, until the horse’s sale. Sylvain Filion drove Funtime Bayama in that qualifier. However, Yves Filion drove the gelding in his first two pari-mutuel starts, achieving place finishes in Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots and Gold events at Mohawk in July 2023. Sylvain Filion drove in all subsequent starts before the horse’s sale. On September 2, 2023, the two-year-old gelding set a track and Canadian record of 1:50.1s in an OSS Gold leg. To date, Funtime Bayama has secured eight wins from 15 career starts, with a lifetime mark of 1:49.1s achieved in his June 1, 2024, Somebeachsomewhere stake victory.
Following his win in the Oct. 12 OSS Gold Super Final with You Got It Kemp, Sylvain Filion offered measured responses regarding his career. “I’ve had a decent career so far, so hopefully things will keep going,” he commented. “I’ll take a bit of time off, until probably next summer. I’ll see from there. I really don’t know what I’m going to do.” He had just equaled Paul MacDonell’s record for OSS Gold Super Finals driving wins (18) prior to surpassing it with Odds On Platinum in the 3-year-old pacing filly Super Final. On October 23, 2023, Sylvain achieved his 10,000th driving win at Mohawk. The 55-year-old horseman has not competed in a race since October 12, 2024, and was inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame in August of the current year. His father, Yves Filion, was inducted into the same Hall of Fame in 2016.
Richard Moreau recounted being introduced to harness racing by Raymond Gingras, the father of Grand Circuit driver Yannick Gingras. “I used to babysit Yannick, because he’s my cousin,” Moreau said. “That’s how I started in the business.” Moreau’s father was a banker in Montreal.
Moreau’s rise through the Ontario training ranks was a gradual process. He recalled bringing his top horses to a farm owned by Ian Reid near Mohawk to establish his training career. “I had 10 horses racing at Mohawk,” Moreau stated. “I was trying to make it, and it worked. My other 25 horses were at Windsor.” Later, based at Classy Lane Training Center in Puslinch, ON, Moreau relocated his stable to a farm in Freelton, ON, which he and Garth Henry purchased in early 2010. He subsequently bought out Henry’s share and trained horses there until the Funtime Bayama situation arose. “I have the perfect set-up, 10 minutes down the road [from Mohawk],” he told HRU, adding, “I didn’t mean to retire all of a sudden.”
Moreau continues to reside on his farm but is now renting out both barns, rather than just one. The AGCO ruling casts a shadow over the potential return of Moreau or Sylvain Filion to Woodbine Mohawk Park, though it does not eliminate the possibility entirely.
Meanwhile, Yves Filion has not raced Funtime Bayama’s two-year-old Bettors Delight half-brother, Greattime Bayama, since the gelding’s fourth-place finish in an elimination race on August 4. Greattime Bayama had won a Mohawk two-year-old qualifier for Sylvain on June 29. On August 10, ownership of the pacer transferred from Yves’ Bayama Farms Inc. to Les Ecuries S. Filion Inc. of Milton, ON. Prior to Friday’s ruling, this entity also owned dam Tymal Sugrbabydoll and her sons, including Mirabel Bayama (2024) and Handsome Bayama (2023), as well as unraced fillies Emy Rose and Fairy Bayama, and unraced stallion Dreamer Bayama.
Yves’ son, Justin Filion, is serving an indefinite suspension (effective August 16) for refusing to provide a statement to AGCO judges during the Funtime Bayama investigation. Sylvain had previously informed HRU that Justin was assisting Yves at Bayama Farms, the family’s Quebec-based standardbred nursery where Funtime Bayama was raised and spent his winters before returning to racing at Mohawk.
While both Yves Filion and Sylvain Filion are inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame, Moreau’s legacy now appears less certain. However, he indicated to HRU that he has no plans to return to Quebec. “My address is in Ontario,” he stated. “I cheer for the Leafs. My next move would be an oceanfront condo.” Despite this, he expressed a preference for resuming his career in training horses, the central focus of his life’s work.
