By MIKE DILLON
The horse trainer Kevin Myers has been heavily fined by racing's judicial body after admitting that comments he made on television brought the industry into disrepute.
The Wanganui trainer, who is known in the racing world as "Dummy," was fined $3000 and has to pay $2000 in costs after admitting he talked down his horse's chances in a race at Te Rapa last month.
Myers admitted the charge of committing an act detrimental to the interests of racing after his comments surrounding the Waikato Hurdles at Te Rapa on May 19, won by his horse Stacey Jones.
Myers claimed before the race that Stacey Jones might not handle the conditions well. But when the horse won, Myers revealed that he had expected it to do well.
He said he "had to do it for the owner this time." Stacey Jones is owned by a syndicate.
Myers' counsel, Paul Davison, QC, told the Judicial Control Authority in Auckland that Myers' comments were foolish and ill-judged.
Bill Wilson, speaking for the racecourse inspectors who examined the case, said Myers' excellent record in 30 years of racing, his cooperation with inspectors and his admission of the charge meant no suspension was necessary.
Judicial Control Authority hearing chairman Paul Kenny, in handing down the sentence, said there was no evidence any corruption was involved but that racing's image had been damaged and a deterrent was needed.
Myers told the Weekend Herald that he would not appear on the Trackside show again.
The television no-show decision had nothing to do with the charge, or the fine. It was simply an acceptance that he should never have put himself in the position of being able to be charged with such an offence, in which he was perceived to have misled punters.
It was also a recognition that Trackside would probably not ask him to appear again.
In his summation, chairman Kenny said: "We are dealing with a breach of Rule 1001 (1) which is found in that section of the Rules of Racing which defines serious racing offences. In the main, these involve offences involving corruption, dishonesty, fraud or wilful misconduct. In other words these sections involve what have historically been known as corrupt practices.
"There is no evidence before us of corrupt practice and no evidence that Mr Myers benefited by direct or indirect betting.
"We can therefore readily accept the submissions put to us by both counsel that this is not a situation requiring us to consider a penalty of suspension or disqualification and agree that the offence can be dealt with by monetary penalty."
Kenny said that consideration had to be given to how the image of racing had been damaged by the disproportionate way the case had been reported. "For our part we see that the extent of the detriment to the interests of racing might have warranted a fine higher than that which has been suggested.
"However, we have to take into account Mr Myers' record, his cooperation and his admission ... "
The judicial panel said it could find no guidance to penalty in previous breaches of serious racing offences, which had been largely related to drugs.
Racing: Talk-down trainer fined $3000
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