Racing Integrity Board Penalty Guide
A new penalty Guide has just been released by the Racing Integrity Board, and there are aspects of it that are concerning the Trainers & Drivers Association. Consequently, we have written the following to HRNZ:
The National Council is in possession of the RIB Penalty Guide dated 1st February 2023. This is a document to be used by the Adjudicative Committees in determining penalties for licence holders when rules are breached.
The concern we share is that this document appears to have been produced and confirmed at the sole discretion of the RIB, and the input and considerations of the NZTDA appear to have been ignored or discarded.
The NZTDA was asked for input in late October 2022. This was at very short notice provided, and the main concerns at that time were the doing away with the fine v’s suspension option in the most regular offences ( i.e. careless driving etc ).
The NZTDA objected strongly to this and gave sound reasoning as to why.
We received confirmation some days later that the HRNZ Board agreed in totality with our submission and that it would be forwarded to the RIB.
Subsequent to this we have received the RIB Penalty Guide with none of the submissions accepted! We find this bizarre and a total lack of understanding by the RIB as to how these Penalty Guides have been developed in the past. To explain this – they have in the past been a compilation of the concerns and requirements of HRNZ, NZTDA, RIU and JCA..
Agreement between the parties has previously been universal which of course gives the guide more credibility and acceptance by all parties, and more accurately reflects the direction of the code. A change to this premise will create division and a general lack of acceptance, but more importantly the “new” guide creates inequity in penalty swayed unfairly against the participants who derive their main income from this industry. This inequity is against these people in favour of the “hobby” type participant.
The NZTDA absolutely refutes this trend as a major step backwards, and certainly not in keeping with a goal to make the industry more professional.
The other concerning aspect of the guide is that fines that are still in the “new” guide have generally been increased from $200 to $ 300. It is accepted that when first submissions were taken, we were unaware of the TAB reduction in funding which has of course reduced all stakes by 10%. How can you increase fines in an environment of reducing stakes?
In light of these concerns and the obvious disregard by the RIB for the submissions of the NZTDA endorsed by HRNZ, it is suggested that this Penalty Guide release be suspended in the meantime until HRNZ can clearly indicate to the RIB that they accept this document.
The previous Penalty Guide should be valid until these concerns are remedied and that the document is a true reflection of collaboration between the parties. This will give the guide credibility and acceptance. Until that time is does not have this from our participants.
We look forward to your favourable response to this.
We await a response.
Pete Cook