Non-Raceday Inquiry – DP Larkins
ID: JCA19013
Hearing Type (Code):
thoroughbred-racing
Decision:
The defendant was charged with a breach of R 1004(6) of the Rules of Harness Racing, namely that he administered by injection a substance to his horse THE KAPUKA COWBOY during the day of racing that the gelding raced at the Roxburgh Trotting Club's race meeting on 5 January 2007
The defendant was charged with a breach of R 1004(6) of the Rules of Harness Racing, namely that he administered by injection a substance to his horse THE KAPUKA COWBOY during the day of racing that the gelding raced at the Roxburgh Trotting Club's race meeting on 5 January 2007. Mr Scott produced a letter of 6 June 2007 signed by Mr Edward Rennell, General Manager HRNZ, authorising the lodging of the information pursuant to rule 1103(4)(c).
----Rule 1004(6) provides:
----No person shall during any day of racing, in respect of a horse entered in a race, administer by injection, nasal gastric tube, gastric tube, ventilator, or nebulizer any substance whatsoever. Where such administration occurs both the person and the trainer commit a breach of this sub-rule unless such device was used after the horse had raced or under the direction or supervision of a club veterinary surgeon, Racecourse Inspector or Stipendiary Steward.
--For the purposes of this sub-rule the day of racing is deemed to commence 12 hours prior to the first race and conclude half an hour after the last race.
----The penalty provisions for a breach under R 1004(6) are set out in R 1003(1) which provides:
----A person who commits a breach of any Rule shall ? be liable to the following penalties:
----(a) fine not exceeding $5,000; and/or
--(b) suspension from holding or obtaining a licence for a period not exceeding 12 months; and/or
--(c) disqualification for a period not exceeding 12 months
----Facts
--Mr Larkins holds a licence to train and an open horseman's licence under The NZ Rules of Harness Racing. Mr Larkins, together with his wife, own the 9-year old gelding THE KAPUKA COWBOY. Mr Larkins is the trainer of the gelding. THE KAPUKA COWBOY was correctly entered for and started in Race 11 the Criterion Club Hotel/Speights' Brewery Pace at the Roxburgh Trotting Club's annual race meeting held at the Roxburgh racecourse on the 5 January 2007. THE KAPUKA COWBOY won the race and received a stake of $3,575. Following the race THE KAPUKA COWBOY was 'swabbed? on the instructions of the stipendiary steward. On the 16 January 2007 the Official Racing Analyst advised that the urine sample when analysed detected the drug Heptaminol which is a prohibited substance under the New Zealand Rules of Harness Racing.
----On the 17 January 2007 when spoken to by the Racecourse Inspector, Mr Scott, Mr Larkins was fully co-operative and explained the events leading up to the horse racing. Mr Larkins frankly admitted that between 7.30 am and 8.00 am on the morning of the races, and prior to travelling to the Roxburgh racecourse, he injected THE KAPUKA COWBOY with 20mls of the drug Kynoselen which he had legally purchased from a local veterinary clinic the previous afternoon. The prohibited substance Heptaminol is a drug that is an ingredient in one of two formulations of the product marketed as "Kynoselen".
----Under R 1004(6), it is a breach if the trainer or another person injects any substance whatsoever to a horse 12 hours prior to Race 1 at the particular meeting. The first race at Roxburgh was run at 2.25 pm thus making the time Mr Larkins injected his horse approximately 6 1/2 hours prior to race 1 and inside the 12 hour definition of race day in R 1004(6). Mr Scott states that, by way of explanation, Mr Larkins said he was unaware of this rule (as passed at Harness Racing's Annual Conference in June 2005), and had not read about the rule change in any publication nor had he heard it discussed amongst his fellow trainers or in any harness racing circles. Mr Larkins further stated to Mr Scott that he was not aware of the change in the definition of "day of racing" as amended (at the Harness Racing Annual Conference in June 2006). He said he only became aware of the breach when told by Mr Scott. He was very adamant that if he had been aware of this rule he would never have administered the substance to his horse within that time frame.
----Submissions
--After traversing the background to the charge, Mr Scott requested a fine in the range of $500 to $1000. He stated HRNZ was not seeking a suspension or disqualification. He stated he was satisfied that Mr Larkins, in the particular circumstances of this case, had taken proper steps to ascertain that he had purchased the correct product and was not intending to administer a prohibited substance. He emphasised that Mr Larkins only faced the charge under R 1004(6) due to his frankness when being questioned by him.
----Mr Scott stated he was only aware of two previous occasions that persons have been charged under R 1004(6), namely Wigley (2007) and Clementson (2007). In both these instances the breaches took place on the actual racecourse after the horses had been taken there for the purpose of racing. In both instances the incidents resulting in the charges being laid were witnessed by third parties. Wigley, a thoroughbred trainer, was fined $4000 and Clementson, a harness racing trainer, was fined $4000 and disqualified for 6 months. He noted Clementson, who had two previous convictions for serious racing offences, had appealed his penalty and it was currently under review. (We note that subsequent to the hearing, the penalty was reduced to 4 months' disqualification and a fine of $2,500.) Wigley's horse was scratched prior to race start and Clementson's horse ran fifth for a stake of $200. Because of the unique circumstances involved in this matter, Harness Racing accepted that the offending was very much at the lower end of the scale of offending compared to Wigley and Clementson.
----Mr Larkins was unable to attend the hearing. Mr Brendan Bell sought and was granted permission to address the Committee on Mr Larkins' behalf. Mr Scott did not object. Mr Bell is a qualified veterinary surgeon and a member of the New Zealand Equine Vets Association. He indicated that not only was Mr Larkins unaware of the rule change with respect to the definition of "day of racing" but so were he and the other vets at his practice. He said he had spoken to Mr Andrew Grierson, the South Island representative on the Association, who said there had been no official notification of the rule change to the Association. He stated that the Association had not passed the information on to their members, who would have in turn passed it on to their clients, because the vets themselves were unaware of it. Mr Bell also said that due to his ignorance of the rule he could also have ?innocently? administered the drug, the formulation without a withholding time, to the horse within the prohibited time frame.
----Mr Bell described Mr Larkins as a humble and honest man who was an excellent horseman and a valued client of Mr Bell's veterinary practice. He said Mr Larkins was in the industry as a consequence of his love of racing and he was certain there was no ulterior motive behind Mr Larkins' actions.
----In reply, Mr Scott indicated that notification of the relevant changes to the Rules of Harness Racing had appeared in the Harness Racing Weekly but agreed that little had been done in the publication to highlight the changes and to ensure that they had been brought to the attention of all licence-holders.
----Penalty
--Mr Larkins has admitted the charge. Therefore, pursuant to R 1111(1)(d) we find the charge proved. We note that R 1004(6) was passed by the Harness Racing Conference in June 2005 and the definition of "day of racing" was amended to its present form in June 2006.
----Mr Larkins' breach of R 1004(6) only came to light following THE KAPUKA COWBOY testing positive to a prohibited substance when his urine sample was analysed after winning race 11 at Roxburgh on 5 January 2007. During the interview with Mr Scott Mr Larkins freely admitted injecting the gelding early in the morning of the races with a substance named Kynoselen which he honestly believed was drug free. As it turned out the substance sold to him under the same name Kynoselen in this instance contained another ingredient, namely the prohibited substance Heptaminol. This was despite Mr Larkins returning to the veterinary clinic to actually ask for clarification from the supplying veterinary surgeon that the Kynoselen he had purchased was the non-withholding Kynoselen. He was assured he had been given the correct product. Regardless of this incorrect and misleading advice given by his veterinary surgeon, Mr Larkins breached the rule as charged because he injected "a substance" (it need not be a prohibited substance) to his horse between 7.30 am and 8.00 am on the morning of raceday, which is clearly within the time frame defined as the "day of racing". The administration was made at Mr Larkins' stables prior to travelling to the Roxburgh Race course.
----Mr Larkins is adamant that he was completely unaware of this new rule and the amendment and we accept this statement. His admission of the breach of R 1004(6) has come at the first available opportunity. Mr Larkins has an excellent record and has co-operated honestly and fully throughout the inquiry.
----We accept HRNZ's submission that the matter can be dealt with by way of a fine. The matter is very clearly at the lower end of the scale. Significantly, in determining the quantum of the fine, we note that it will only form part of the total financial penalty that Mr Larkins will suffer. In particular, he will forfeit the winning stake of $3,575 due to the application of R 1004D. Taking into account this fact, the circumstances of the breach, and the mitigating factors, a fine of $500 is imposed. This penalty is not intended to set a precedent for a breach of R 1004(6). It is a penalty that is appropriate to the peculiar facts of this particular case.
----Harness Racing also seeks the disqualification of THE KAPUKA COWBOY from the race pursuant to R 1004D in that the gelding was found to have administered to it a prohibited substance, namely Heptaminol, contained in the formulation marketed as Kynoselen.
----Rule 1004D of the Rules Harness Racing provides:
--------Any horse which has been taken to a racecourse for the purpose of engaging in a race which is found to have administered to it or ingested by it any prohibited substance shall be disqualified from that race.
----We are satisfied that THE KAPUKA COWBOY was entered for and started in Race 11 the Criterion Club Hotel/Speights' Brewery Pace at the Roxburgh Trotting Club's annual race meeting held at the Roxburgh racecourse on 5 January 2007 after having had administered to it the drug Heptaminol which is a prohibited substance under the New Zealand Rules of Harness Racing. In these circumstances we disqualify THE KAPUKA COWBOY from that race.
----Amended placings are:
----1st SIGHT AND SOUND
--2nd SEE ME RUN
--3rd PACE AND VISION
--4th HOLME FOR A CUDDLE
----HRNZ are directed to arrange the necessary amendments and re-allocation of stake monies.
--HRNZ has not sought any order for costs as the matter has been dealt with on race day. There is thus no order for costs.
----G Hall Chairman
--D Steel Member
----
Decision Date: 01/01/2001
Publish Date: 01/01/2001
JCA Decision Fields (raw)
Dmitry: This section contains all JCA fields migrated from the raw data.
Data from these fields should be mapped appropriately to display amongst the standard fields above; please make note of any values below that are missing in the above standard fields but should be there.
hearingid: 277dfd6118144a6720ec4696295be159
informantnumber:
horsename:
hearing_racingtype: thoroughbred-racing
startdate: 01/01/2001
newcharge:
plea:
penaltyrequired:
decisiondate: no date provided
hearing_title: Non-Raceday Inquiry - DP Larkins
charge:
facts:
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
The defendant was charged with a breach of R 1004(6) of the Rules of Harness Racing, namely that he administered by injection a substance to his horse THE KAPUKA COWBOY during the day of racing that the gelding raced at the Roxburgh Trotting Club's race meeting on 5 January 2007
The defendant was charged with a breach of R 1004(6) of the Rules of Harness Racing, namely that he administered by injection a substance to his horse THE KAPUKA COWBOY during the day of racing that the gelding raced at the Roxburgh Trotting Club's race meeting on 5 January 2007. Mr Scott produced a letter of 6 June 2007 signed by Mr Edward Rennell, General Manager HRNZ, authorising the lodging of the information pursuant to rule 1103(4)(c).
----Rule 1004(6) provides:
----No person shall during any day of racing, in respect of a horse entered in a race, administer by injection, nasal gastric tube, gastric tube, ventilator, or nebulizer any substance whatsoever. Where such administration occurs both the person and the trainer commit a breach of this sub-rule unless such device was used after the horse had raced or under the direction or supervision of a club veterinary surgeon, Racecourse Inspector or Stipendiary Steward.
--For the purposes of this sub-rule the day of racing is deemed to commence 12 hours prior to the first race and conclude half an hour after the last race.
----The penalty provisions for a breach under R 1004(6) are set out in R 1003(1) which provides:
----A person who commits a breach of any Rule shall ? be liable to the following penalties:
----(a) fine not exceeding $5,000; and/or
--(b) suspension from holding or obtaining a licence for a period not exceeding 12 months; and/or
--(c) disqualification for a period not exceeding 12 months
----Facts
--Mr Larkins holds a licence to train and an open horseman's licence under The NZ Rules of Harness Racing. Mr Larkins, together with his wife, own the 9-year old gelding THE KAPUKA COWBOY. Mr Larkins is the trainer of the gelding. THE KAPUKA COWBOY was correctly entered for and started in Race 11 the Criterion Club Hotel/Speights' Brewery Pace at the Roxburgh Trotting Club's annual race meeting held at the Roxburgh racecourse on the 5 January 2007. THE KAPUKA COWBOY won the race and received a stake of $3,575. Following the race THE KAPUKA COWBOY was 'swabbed? on the instructions of the stipendiary steward. On the 16 January 2007 the Official Racing Analyst advised that the urine sample when analysed detected the drug Heptaminol which is a prohibited substance under the New Zealand Rules of Harness Racing.
----On the 17 January 2007 when spoken to by the Racecourse Inspector, Mr Scott, Mr Larkins was fully co-operative and explained the events leading up to the horse racing. Mr Larkins frankly admitted that between 7.30 am and 8.00 am on the morning of the races, and prior to travelling to the Roxburgh racecourse, he injected THE KAPUKA COWBOY with 20mls of the drug Kynoselen which he had legally purchased from a local veterinary clinic the previous afternoon. The prohibited substance Heptaminol is a drug that is an ingredient in one of two formulations of the product marketed as "Kynoselen".
----Under R 1004(6), it is a breach if the trainer or another person injects any substance whatsoever to a horse 12 hours prior to Race 1 at the particular meeting. The first race at Roxburgh was run at 2.25 pm thus making the time Mr Larkins injected his horse approximately 6 1/2 hours prior to race 1 and inside the 12 hour definition of race day in R 1004(6). Mr Scott states that, by way of explanation, Mr Larkins said he was unaware of this rule (as passed at Harness Racing's Annual Conference in June 2005), and had not read about the rule change in any publication nor had he heard it discussed amongst his fellow trainers or in any harness racing circles. Mr Larkins further stated to Mr Scott that he was not aware of the change in the definition of "day of racing" as amended (at the Harness Racing Annual Conference in June 2006). He said he only became aware of the breach when told by Mr Scott. He was very adamant that if he had been aware of this rule he would never have administered the substance to his horse within that time frame.
----Submissions
--After traversing the background to the charge, Mr Scott requested a fine in the range of $500 to $1000. He stated HRNZ was not seeking a suspension or disqualification. He stated he was satisfied that Mr Larkins, in the particular circumstances of this case, had taken proper steps to ascertain that he had purchased the correct product and was not intending to administer a prohibited substance. He emphasised that Mr Larkins only faced the charge under R 1004(6) due to his frankness when being questioned by him.
----Mr Scott stated he was only aware of two previous occasions that persons have been charged under R 1004(6), namely Wigley (2007) and Clementson (2007). In both these instances the breaches took place on the actual racecourse after the horses had been taken there for the purpose of racing. In both instances the incidents resulting in the charges being laid were witnessed by third parties. Wigley, a thoroughbred trainer, was fined $4000 and Clementson, a harness racing trainer, was fined $4000 and disqualified for 6 months. He noted Clementson, who had two previous convictions for serious racing offences, had appealed his penalty and it was currently under review. (We note that subsequent to the hearing, the penalty was reduced to 4 months' disqualification and a fine of $2,500.) Wigley's horse was scratched prior to race start and Clementson's horse ran fifth for a stake of $200. Because of the unique circumstances involved in this matter, Harness Racing accepted that the offending was very much at the lower end of the scale of offending compared to Wigley and Clementson.
----Mr Larkins was unable to attend the hearing. Mr Brendan Bell sought and was granted permission to address the Committee on Mr Larkins' behalf. Mr Scott did not object. Mr Bell is a qualified veterinary surgeon and a member of the New Zealand Equine Vets Association. He indicated that not only was Mr Larkins unaware of the rule change with respect to the definition of "day of racing" but so were he and the other vets at his practice. He said he had spoken to Mr Andrew Grierson, the South Island representative on the Association, who said there had been no official notification of the rule change to the Association. He stated that the Association had not passed the information on to their members, who would have in turn passed it on to their clients, because the vets themselves were unaware of it. Mr Bell also said that due to his ignorance of the rule he could also have ?innocently? administered the drug, the formulation without a withholding time, to the horse within the prohibited time frame.
----Mr Bell described Mr Larkins as a humble and honest man who was an excellent horseman and a valued client of Mr Bell's veterinary practice. He said Mr Larkins was in the industry as a consequence of his love of racing and he was certain there was no ulterior motive behind Mr Larkins' actions.
----In reply, Mr Scott indicated that notification of the relevant changes to the Rules of Harness Racing had appeared in the Harness Racing Weekly but agreed that little had been done in the publication to highlight the changes and to ensure that they had been brought to the attention of all licence-holders.
----Penalty
--Mr Larkins has admitted the charge. Therefore, pursuant to R 1111(1)(d) we find the charge proved. We note that R 1004(6) was passed by the Harness Racing Conference in June 2005 and the definition of "day of racing" was amended to its present form in June 2006.
----Mr Larkins' breach of R 1004(6) only came to light following THE KAPUKA COWBOY testing positive to a prohibited substance when his urine sample was analysed after winning race 11 at Roxburgh on 5 January 2007. During the interview with Mr Scott Mr Larkins freely admitted injecting the gelding early in the morning of the races with a substance named Kynoselen which he honestly believed was drug free. As it turned out the substance sold to him under the same name Kynoselen in this instance contained another ingredient, namely the prohibited substance Heptaminol. This was despite Mr Larkins returning to the veterinary clinic to actually ask for clarification from the supplying veterinary surgeon that the Kynoselen he had purchased was the non-withholding Kynoselen. He was assured he had been given the correct product. Regardless of this incorrect and misleading advice given by his veterinary surgeon, Mr Larkins breached the rule as charged because he injected "a substance" (it need not be a prohibited substance) to his horse between 7.30 am and 8.00 am on the morning of raceday, which is clearly within the time frame defined as the "day of racing". The administration was made at Mr Larkins' stables prior to travelling to the Roxburgh Race course.
----Mr Larkins is adamant that he was completely unaware of this new rule and the amendment and we accept this statement. His admission of the breach of R 1004(6) has come at the first available opportunity. Mr Larkins has an excellent record and has co-operated honestly and fully throughout the inquiry.
----We accept HRNZ's submission that the matter can be dealt with by way of a fine. The matter is very clearly at the lower end of the scale. Significantly, in determining the quantum of the fine, we note that it will only form part of the total financial penalty that Mr Larkins will suffer. In particular, he will forfeit the winning stake of $3,575 due to the application of R 1004D. Taking into account this fact, the circumstances of the breach, and the mitigating factors, a fine of $500 is imposed. This penalty is not intended to set a precedent for a breach of R 1004(6). It is a penalty that is appropriate to the peculiar facts of this particular case.
----Harness Racing also seeks the disqualification of THE KAPUKA COWBOY from the race pursuant to R 1004D in that the gelding was found to have administered to it a prohibited substance, namely Heptaminol, contained in the formulation marketed as Kynoselen.
----Rule 1004D of the Rules Harness Racing provides:
--------Any horse which has been taken to a racecourse for the purpose of engaging in a race which is found to have administered to it or ingested by it any prohibited substance shall be disqualified from that race.
----We are satisfied that THE KAPUKA COWBOY was entered for and started in Race 11 the Criterion Club Hotel/Speights' Brewery Pace at the Roxburgh Trotting Club's annual race meeting held at the Roxburgh racecourse on 5 January 2007 after having had administered to it the drug Heptaminol which is a prohibited substance under the New Zealand Rules of Harness Racing. In these circumstances we disqualify THE KAPUKA COWBOY from that race.
----Amended placings are:
----1st SIGHT AND SOUND
--2nd SEE ME RUN
--3rd PACE AND VISION
--4th HOLME FOR A CUDDLE
----HRNZ are directed to arrange the necessary amendments and re-allocation of stake monies.
--HRNZ has not sought any order for costs as the matter has been dealt with on race day. There is thus no order for costs.
----G Hall Chairman
--D Steel Member
----
sumissionsforpenalty:
reasonsforpenalty:
penalty:
hearing_type: Old Hearing
Rules: 1004.6, 1103.4.c, 1003.1, 1111.1.d
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