Harness racing driver Nigel McGrath. Photo / Supplied
Nigel McGrath isn’t allowed to set foot on a racecourse anymore.
Not since he was raided by investigators and caught “red-handed” with a backpack full of gear used to administer substances to horses hours before they were due to race.
The raid in 2020 came on the back of tips McGrath was cheating by force-feeding his animals liquid substances, allegedly to give them an edge on the track.
Inside the backpack, investigators found “tubing” gear including a coiled rubber hose, a plastic funnel and an empty plastic bottle with residue inside.
“Tubing” a horse involves inserting a tube through the horse’s nose into its oesophagus, liquid is then poured through a funnel directly into its stomach.
However, the substance inside the bottle was never tested because he refused to hand over the gear to Racing Integrity Unit (RIU) investigators, instead grabbing hold of the backpack and refusing to let go. Eventually, they left without it.
The RIU board said the substance was likely to have been sodium bicarbonate (baking soda), which has historically been used to boost a horse’s endurance.
McGrath eventually admitted the charges against him and conceded he had administered a prohibited substance to his horses, had refused to make a statement and obstructed a member of the RIU. He was disqualified from racing and training horses for eight years and cannot set foot on a racetrack or equine training facility.
Other trainers caught with tubed horses, such as Scott Dickson, have received fines rather than a disqualification.
McGrath told NZME the RIB understandably threw the book at him because of the way he reacted, rather than the offence itself necessarily.
“I ballsed up,” he said.
“I knew I was in the wrong but my reaction made it 10 times worse.
“If I could go back in time and change things I would... I lost 35 years of work overnight.”
McGrath is four years into an eight-year disqualification and applied to the RIB earlier this year to cancel that disqualification, but not so he can race horses again.
“I just want to be able to sit in the stands and watch the sport I’ve loved for 25 years. I wanted to be able to take my kids to carts day or visit my mates at their training facilities.”
McGrath was one of the country’s most prominent horse trainers and harness racing drivers, racking up nearly 600 wins in his 20-year career and raking in millions in prize money.
This is the second time McGrath has been pulled up by racing authorities and suspended for 18 months after he was caught administering a muscle relaxant to another of his horses in 2004.
McGrath didn’t appeal his disqualification, as he could have, but instead relied on a rule that allows him to seek a cancellation of his disqualification after serving a year.
Instead, he waited four years before lodging his application, which was heard by the appeal committee of the RIB earlier this year.
He’s spent that time going to counselling, doing charity work and “taking all reasonable steps to rehabilitate himself” the committee noted in its decision released this month.
Part of his claim was he had served four years of his disqualification, which was “manifestly excessive” and “clearly inappropriate” for the level of offending.
Affidavits in support of McGrath were produced by prominent members of the racing industry as well as the Salvation Army and his wife, speaking to his good character and the rehabilitative work he’s been undertaking.
By contrast, the RIB’s position was the disqualification was in response to high-level, serious offending, in particular the tubing incident.
“That is a clear attempt to cheat,” counsel for the RIB said in submissions.
“An attempt to administer a prohibited substance to a horse for the purposes of enhancing its performance three hours before a race, involves significant dishonesty.”
The RIB said McGrath’s motivations could only have been financial, regardless that the race itself was relatively low stakes.
“It was followed by a series of actions by Mr McGrath designed to obfuscate his offending. Having been caught red-handed, he refused to comply with and actively and aggressively obstructed Racing Investigators…” the RIB said in submissions.
“Mr McGrath also withheld and destroyed evidence, preventing investigation of his breach.”
The appeal committee said McGrath did not appeal his disqualification in 2020 despite having the opportunity.
“The impacts on Mr McGrath reputationally, financially and personally are the ordinary consequences of a significant term of disqualification for serious racing offences,” the panel said.
“There is no doubt that those consequences are painful and difficult for Mr McGrath. But that must cede to the importance of upholding the integrity of the industry. These consequences are not such as to provide a compelling reason for cancellation of the remaining disqualification.”
The panel dismissed McGrath’s application and he must wait another year before making another application.
McGrath told NZME he accepts he needed to be punished and that his actions hopefully act as a deterrent for anyone else doing the same.
As for whether he’ll take up the reins when his disqualification ends, McGrath is adamant he’ll return to the sport.
“It’s the training and the educating a horse that I miss the most,” he said.
“People have asked me why I don’t just get another job, but when something is your passion it’s just not that simple.”
He’s not sure whether he’ll reapply for his disqualification to be cancelled next year.
Jeremy Wilkinson is an Open Justice reporter based in Manawatū covering courts and justice issues with an interest in tribunals. He has been a journalist for nearly a decade and has worked for NZME since 2022.
The protest will pass over the harbour bridge this morning.