Non Raceday Inquiry – RIU v JA McArthur 3 October 2011 – Decision 5 October 2011
ID: JCA13652
Decision:
NON RACE DAY ENQUIRY
BEFORE THE JUDICIAL COMMITTEE
Judicial Committee: Mr R Seabrook (Chair) - Mr A Dooley (Committee Member)
Venue: Awapuni Racecourse, Palmerston North
Date of Hearing: Monday 3 October 2011 at 1200 hrs.
INFORMATION NUMBER: 66751
Barry Alexander Kitto - Racecourse Inspector/Investigator
Informant
AND
John Alexander McArthur - Owner/trainer Greyhound Racing New Zealand
Defendant
ALSO PRESENT: Mr R Neal - Registrar
CHARGE: Breach of Rule 87.1, 87.3, 87.4
As follows:
John Alexander McArthur, on the 26th August, 2011, being the part owner and trainer of a Greyhound, ‘MISS GIGI’ nominated to compete in a race, namely Race 6, the Palamountains Nutrition feature C4 race over 305 metres, at the Wanganui Greyhound Racing Club Inc., race meeting, held at Hatrick Raceway, Wanganui, did fail to produce the said greyhound,’ MISS GIGI’ free of any prohibited substance, namely Morphine, being in breach of Rule 87.1 and 87.3 of the Greyhound New Zealand Rules of Racing and is therefore liable to the penalty or penalties which may be imposed in accordance with Rule 89.1 a,b,c and d and the said greyhound ‘MISS GIGI’ is liable to the penalty which may be imposed in accordance with Rule 84.4.
Summary of Facts: MR B KITTO
Mr John Alexander McArthur (The defendant) holds an Owner / Trainers Licence issued under the Greyhound New Zealand Rules of racing. He is 64 years of age and has been licensed for some 30 years.
Mr McArthur appears before this judicial committee today charged with breaching Rule 87.1 and 87.3 and the greyhound involved ‘MISS GIGI’ is subject to the penalty in Rule 87.4 as per information number 66751 and the attached schedule of offence.
Mr McArthur indicated in writing on the information that he was pleading guilty to the charge and would be in attendance at this hearing today.
The basic facts are not in dispute and can be summarised as follows:
1. Mr McArthur resides at his training establishment at Wanganui where he is in the ownership and trains the registered Greyhound “MISS GIGI”. The co-owners of “MISS GIGI” are his wife and Mr and Mrs Jansen. They make up the Silver Jim Syndicate.
2. MISS GIGI was correctly nominated for race 6, the Palamountains Nutrition feature race over 305 metres at Hatrick Raceway, Wanganui, on Friday the 26th August 2011.
3. “MISS GIGI” won the event and a stake of $828.00 which has been paid out.
4. “MISS GIGI” was selected to be post race swabbed.
5. On the 13th September, 2011, the official Racing Analysts Mr Craig Gardiner and Mr Rob Howitt reported Morphine detected from her urine sample.
6. As a result Mr McArthur and his wife were interviewed on the 14th and 22nd of September, 2011. Mrs McArthur and their handler Mr Monk took 3 Greyhounds including “MISS GIGI” to the race meeting in question. Mr McArthur did not attend the meeting as he was out of town on business.
7. Mrs McArthur has an Owner/Trainers’ license with Greyhound New Zealand. She has no greyhounds in training under her name. They are all trained by Mr McArthur.
8. When advised of the positive swab for ‘MISS GIGI” for Morphine it became almost immediately clear this positive swab probably came about by the greyhound MISS GIGI eating bread which contained poppy seeds.
9. They have an arrangement with Quality Bakers in Wanganui where they purchase excess stocks of bread for greyhound food. An examination of their bread fridge failed to locate any of the offending bread. However, the brand type was Mackenzie high country (Station seed and grain) type. This type was purchased and identified by Mr and Mrs McArthur as the bread in question. When they had read the label they ceased giving it to their racing team but by that time, MISS GIGI would have been fed this bread.
10. This bread was forwarded to the racing Laboratory on 15 September 2011 for analysis. Dr Geoff Beresford, the Official Racing Analyst reported on 19 September 2011 that the poppy seeds in this bread were positive for Morphine.
11. Mr McArthur indicated that he was responsible for what had happened and no one else was. He is the trainer and took responsibility, saying it is nothing to do with his wife. He said ‘well the buck stops with me; I mean it is nothing to do with anyone else’.
12. Mr McArthur said he was relieved that the cause of the positive swab had been identified and at least there was no one else involved. He did not wish the reserve sample to be analysed.
13. Neither Mr nor Mrs McArthur has a TAB betting account and they did not bet on MISS GIGI. Mr McArthur said he was involved in the industry for the love of the sport, not the betting.
Submissions by MR J MCARTHUR:
Mr McArthur told the committee that his wife had been made redundant and had taken over the responsibility of the feeding of their greyhounds. Prior to August he said they were offered a new bread supply which they subsequently fed to their greyhounds. Mr McArthur said he had always fed bread for their morning diet and were aware of the results that poppy seeds can produce. He explained that although all the bread they were feeding did not contain poppy seeds he should have been more diligent in what they were feeding. He said this was a lapse on his part and he had slipped up on this occasion.
Penalty Submissions:
The penalty provisions for a breach of Rules 87.1, 87.3 are contained in Rule 89.1 a,b,c and d as follows:
89.1 Any person found guilty of an Offence under these rules shall be liable to, in the sole and absolute discretion of the Board of Stewards:
a. A fine not exceeding $10,000.00 for any (1) Offence; and/or
b. Suspension; and /or
c. Warning Off.
87.4 states Any Greyhound which competes in a race and is found to be the recipient of a Prohibited substance shall be disqualified from that Race.
I refer the Committee to the penalties imposed in 8 previous prosecutions for breaches of Rule 87.1 since July 2010. They range from $1500 to $3500 and one occasion resulted in a 4 month disqualification being imposed.
The starting point for any monetary penalty we would suggest should be $3500 and increased or decreased after taking mitigating and aggravating features into account.
The mitigating factors for Mr McArthur are that he has immediately admitted his liability and has co-operated throughout the investigation. He has had this matter heard at the earliest opportunity and has admitted the breach at the first available opportunity. He has been involved in the Greyhound Industry for some 30 years and has not previously offended.
The aggravating feature is that Mr McArthur is aware of poppy seeds producing positive swabs for Morphine through his long association in the industry. When using bread and not checking the type being used amounts to carelessness or negligence.
We believe this matter can be dealt with by way of monetary penalty.
We would request an order under Rule 87.4 that “MISS GIGI” be disqualified from the race and we make no application for costs.
Mr McArthur when asked for submissions on penalty had nothing further to say.
Penalty Decision:
The committee has carefully considered all the evidence and submissions as presented. Firstly and very importantly the committee is satisfied there was absolutely no intent by Mr McArthur to gain an advantage through the administration of prohibited substances. Further mitigating factors are Mr McArthur’s early admission of the breach and his full co-operation throughout the investigation. It is also relevant that Mr McArthur has been involved in the industry for some 30 years and has not previously offended.
However these mitigating factors must be assessed alongside the following aggravating facts. By Mr McArthur’s own admission he was fully aware of poppy seeds producing positive swabs for morphine. He was negligent to the extent that he did not exercise due diligence in checking the new bread ingredients he was feeding to his greyhounds.
The committee finds this negligence to be at the low end of the scale.
Penalty:
In setting penalty the committee is mindful that the integrity of greyhound racing is paramount. All license holders must be treated on equal terms and any penalty must contain a deterrent element.
The committee is aware that the Racing Integrity Unit suggested a starting point for a penalty should be $3,500. However because of the compelling mitigating factors above the committee concluded that a more appropriate penalty would be one of $2,000 and we order accordingly. Further we order costs to the JCA of $500.
As per rule 87.4 it is clear that any greyhound which competes in a race and is found to be the recipient of a prohibited substance shall be disqualified from that race.
Accordingly we order the disqualification of MISS GIGI from race 6 The Palamountains Nutrition Feature C4 race held on 26 August 2011. Therefore all stake monies shall be refunded to Greyhound New Zealand for payment as per amended placings.
R M Seabrook A Dooley
Chairman Committee Member
Appeal Decision: NO LINKED APPEAL DECISION
Decision Date: 20/09/2011
Publish Date: 20/09/2011
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.
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informantnumber: 66751
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startdate: no date provided
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plea:
penaltyrequired:
decisiondate: 20/09/2011
hearing_title: Non Raceday Inquiry - RIU v JA McArthur 3 October 2011 - Decision 5 October 2011
charge:
facts:
appealdecision: NO LINKED APPEAL DECISION
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
NON RACE DAY ENQUIRY
BEFORE THE JUDICIAL COMMITTEE
Judicial Committee: Mr R Seabrook (Chair) - Mr A Dooley (Committee Member)
Venue: Awapuni Racecourse, Palmerston North
Date of Hearing: Monday 3 October 2011 at 1200 hrs.
INFORMATION NUMBER: 66751
Barry Alexander Kitto - Racecourse Inspector/Investigator
Informant
AND
John Alexander McArthur - Owner/trainer Greyhound Racing New Zealand
Defendant
ALSO PRESENT: Mr R Neal - Registrar
CHARGE: Breach of Rule 87.1, 87.3, 87.4
As follows:
John Alexander McArthur, on the 26th August, 2011, being the part owner and trainer of a Greyhound, ‘MISS GIGI’ nominated to compete in a race, namely Race 6, the Palamountains Nutrition feature C4 race over 305 metres, at the Wanganui Greyhound Racing Club Inc., race meeting, held at Hatrick Raceway, Wanganui, did fail to produce the said greyhound,’ MISS GIGI’ free of any prohibited substance, namely Morphine, being in breach of Rule 87.1 and 87.3 of the Greyhound New Zealand Rules of Racing and is therefore liable to the penalty or penalties which may be imposed in accordance with Rule 89.1 a,b,c and d and the said greyhound ‘MISS GIGI’ is liable to the penalty which may be imposed in accordance with Rule 84.4.
Summary of Facts: MR B KITTO
Mr John Alexander McArthur (The defendant) holds an Owner / Trainers Licence issued under the Greyhound New Zealand Rules of racing. He is 64 years of age and has been licensed for some 30 years.
Mr McArthur appears before this judicial committee today charged with breaching Rule 87.1 and 87.3 and the greyhound involved ‘MISS GIGI’ is subject to the penalty in Rule 87.4 as per information number 66751 and the attached schedule of offence.
Mr McArthur indicated in writing on the information that he was pleading guilty to the charge and would be in attendance at this hearing today.
The basic facts are not in dispute and can be summarised as follows:
1. Mr McArthur resides at his training establishment at Wanganui where he is in the ownership and trains the registered Greyhound “MISS GIGI”. The co-owners of “MISS GIGI” are his wife and Mr and Mrs Jansen. They make up the Silver Jim Syndicate.
2. MISS GIGI was correctly nominated for race 6, the Palamountains Nutrition feature race over 305 metres at Hatrick Raceway, Wanganui, on Friday the 26th August 2011.
3. “MISS GIGI” won the event and a stake of $828.00 which has been paid out.
4. “MISS GIGI” was selected to be post race swabbed.
5. On the 13th September, 2011, the official Racing Analysts Mr Craig Gardiner and Mr Rob Howitt reported Morphine detected from her urine sample.
6. As a result Mr McArthur and his wife were interviewed on the 14th and 22nd of September, 2011. Mrs McArthur and their handler Mr Monk took 3 Greyhounds including “MISS GIGI” to the race meeting in question. Mr McArthur did not attend the meeting as he was out of town on business.
7. Mrs McArthur has an Owner/Trainers’ license with Greyhound New Zealand. She has no greyhounds in training under her name. They are all trained by Mr McArthur.
8. When advised of the positive swab for ‘MISS GIGI” for Morphine it became almost immediately clear this positive swab probably came about by the greyhound MISS GIGI eating bread which contained poppy seeds.
9. They have an arrangement with Quality Bakers in Wanganui where they purchase excess stocks of bread for greyhound food. An examination of their bread fridge failed to locate any of the offending bread. However, the brand type was Mackenzie high country (Station seed and grain) type. This type was purchased and identified by Mr and Mrs McArthur as the bread in question. When they had read the label they ceased giving it to their racing team but by that time, MISS GIGI would have been fed this bread.
10. This bread was forwarded to the racing Laboratory on 15 September 2011 for analysis. Dr Geoff Beresford, the Official Racing Analyst reported on 19 September 2011 that the poppy seeds in this bread were positive for Morphine.
11. Mr McArthur indicated that he was responsible for what had happened and no one else was. He is the trainer and took responsibility, saying it is nothing to do with his wife. He said ‘well the buck stops with me; I mean it is nothing to do with anyone else’.
12. Mr McArthur said he was relieved that the cause of the positive swab had been identified and at least there was no one else involved. He did not wish the reserve sample to be analysed.
13. Neither Mr nor Mrs McArthur has a TAB betting account and they did not bet on MISS GIGI. Mr McArthur said he was involved in the industry for the love of the sport, not the betting.
Submissions by MR J MCARTHUR:
Mr McArthur told the committee that his wife had been made redundant and had taken over the responsibility of the feeding of their greyhounds. Prior to August he said they were offered a new bread supply which they subsequently fed to their greyhounds. Mr McArthur said he had always fed bread for their morning diet and were aware of the results that poppy seeds can produce. He explained that although all the bread they were feeding did not contain poppy seeds he should have been more diligent in what they were feeding. He said this was a lapse on his part and he had slipped up on this occasion.
Penalty Submissions:
The penalty provisions for a breach of Rules 87.1, 87.3 are contained in Rule 89.1 a,b,c and d as follows:
89.1 Any person found guilty of an Offence under these rules shall be liable to, in the sole and absolute discretion of the Board of Stewards:
a. A fine not exceeding $10,000.00 for any (1) Offence; and/or
b. Suspension; and /or
c. Warning Off.
87.4 states Any Greyhound which competes in a race and is found to be the recipient of a Prohibited substance shall be disqualified from that Race.
I refer the Committee to the penalties imposed in 8 previous prosecutions for breaches of Rule 87.1 since July 2010. They range from $1500 to $3500 and one occasion resulted in a 4 month disqualification being imposed.
The starting point for any monetary penalty we would suggest should be $3500 and increased or decreased after taking mitigating and aggravating features into account.
The mitigating factors for Mr McArthur are that he has immediately admitted his liability and has co-operated throughout the investigation. He has had this matter heard at the earliest opportunity and has admitted the breach at the first available opportunity. He has been involved in the Greyhound Industry for some 30 years and has not previously offended.
The aggravating feature is that Mr McArthur is aware of poppy seeds producing positive swabs for Morphine through his long association in the industry. When using bread and not checking the type being used amounts to carelessness or negligence.
We believe this matter can be dealt with by way of monetary penalty.
We would request an order under Rule 87.4 that “MISS GIGI” be disqualified from the race and we make no application for costs.
Mr McArthur when asked for submissions on penalty had nothing further to say.
Penalty Decision:
The committee has carefully considered all the evidence and submissions as presented. Firstly and very importantly the committee is satisfied there was absolutely no intent by Mr McArthur to gain an advantage through the administration of prohibited substances. Further mitigating factors are Mr McArthur’s early admission of the breach and his full co-operation throughout the investigation. It is also relevant that Mr McArthur has been involved in the industry for some 30 years and has not previously offended.
However these mitigating factors must be assessed alongside the following aggravating facts. By Mr McArthur’s own admission he was fully aware of poppy seeds producing positive swabs for morphine. He was negligent to the extent that he did not exercise due diligence in checking the new bread ingredients he was feeding to his greyhounds.
The committee finds this negligence to be at the low end of the scale.
sumissionsforpenalty:
reasonsforpenalty:
penalty:
In setting penalty the committee is mindful that the integrity of greyhound racing is paramount. All license holders must be treated on equal terms and any penalty must contain a deterrent element.
The committee is aware that the Racing Integrity Unit suggested a starting point for a penalty should be $3,500. However because of the compelling mitigating factors above the committee concluded that a more appropriate penalty would be one of $2,000 and we order accordingly. Further we order costs to the JCA of $500.
As per rule 87.4 it is clear that any greyhound which competes in a race and is found to be the recipient of a prohibited substance shall be disqualified from that race.
Accordingly we order the disqualification of MISS GIGI from race 6 The Palamountains Nutrition Feature C4 race held on 26 August 2011. Therefore all stake monies shall be refunded to Greyhound New Zealand for payment as per amended placings.
R M Seabrook A Dooley
Chairman Committee Member
hearing_type: Non-race day
Rules: 871.1,87.3,87.4
Informant: Mr BA Kitto - Racecourse Inspector/Investigator
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PersonPresent: Mr R Neal - Registrar
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