Racing Victoria (RV) has announced the results of its Stewards’ inquiry and the subsequent deliberations by the RV Board regarding New Zealand jockey Wiremu Pinn’s incorrect apprentice claim in 29 Victorian races.
An audit conducted by RV Stewards on June 13, 2023, revealed that Pinn was entitled to claim only 2kg in metropolitan races upon his arrival in Victoria in May 2023. However, he had been mistakenly given a claim of 3kg in metropolitan races from May 27, 2023, to June 12, 2023.
The process of determining the apprentice claim for visiting or transferred New Zealand apprentices in Australia is outlined in the Australian Rules of Racing (AR).
After Pinn requested to transfer his services from New Zealand to Victoria, RV licensing officials asked their counterparts at New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing (NZTR) for a list of eligible wins to calculate his Australian claim.
However, the wording of RV’s request to NZTR was imprecise, leading to a misunderstanding by NZTR officials. They provided what they believed was the requested list of wins in good faith. RV licensing officials accepted this list as a complete representation of the desired results and assigned Pinn a 3kg claim based on that information.
The inquiry concluded the following:
Pinn was mistakenly given a 3kg claim at five metropolitan race meetings during the specified period. He rode 29 starters in those meetings, including five winners, with 25 of them earning prizemoney through a top 10 finish.
Pinn did not attempt to deceive any officials during the transfer process from New Zealand to Victoria and acted appropriately throughout.
The interaction between RV and NZTR licensing officials would have benefited from clearer communication from RV in the original request to NZTR, considering the differences in race classifications between the two countries.
Stewards’ Considerations:
Based on the findings of the June 13, 2023 audit, the Stewards had to consider whether to exercise their discretionary power under AR 143 (13)(b).
According to AR 143 (13)(b), “Any horse ridden by an apprentice jockey in a race whose weight in the race has been adjusted by an allowance that the apprentice jockey was not entitled to claim, may be disqualified from the race.”
As the rule does not mandate disqualification, the Stewards allowed the owners and trainers of each of the 29 horses an opportunity to submit written arguments before deciding whether to exercise their discretionary power.
In the interest of procedural fairness, the Stewards sent letters to the owners and trainers on June 21, 2023, inviting them to provide reasons why their horses should not be disqualified. Submissions were received from the majority of the connections before the deadline of June 27, 2023.
Stewards’ Determinations:
After considering all the facts and the submissions received, the Stewards have decided to disqualify the 29 horses ridden by Pinn in Victorian races between May 27, 2023, and June 12, 2023.
According to AR 143 (13)(b), the Stewards concluded that the horses carried a weight adjusted by an allowance that Pinn was not entitled to claim.
In reaching this decision, the Stewards acknowledged that the horses competing against Pinn-ridden horses in each of the 29 races were at a disadvantage due to the incorrect claim.
As per AR 274, when a starter is disqualified from a race, the placings are revised, and prizes or money are awarded as if the disqualified horse had not participated.
Therefore, RV will pay the owners, trainers, and jockeys of horses that finished behind the disqualified starter the remaining prizemoney owed based on the revised placings in the next prizemoney payment cycle.
Board Determinations:
After the Stewards decided to disqualify the 29 horses in question, it was the RV Board’s responsibility to determine whether to exercise its right under AR 224 and demand the repayment of any prizemoney won and paid to the owner(s), jockey, and trainer of a disqualified Pinn-ridden horse.
Having reviewed the findings of the Stewards’ inquiry and the basis for their decision, the RV Board has chosen not to request the repayment of any prizemoney from the owner(s), trainer, or jockey Pinn for the 29 horses disqualified by the Stewards.
The RV Board arrived at this decision after considering all the circumstances, including that the error in calculating Pinn’s claim was not his fault, nor the fault of the owners and trainers of the 29 horses who acted in good faith when booking Pinn for the races in question.
The RV Board acknowledges that the mistake was made unintentionally and apologizes on behalf of RV to all affected parties for any distress caused by this unique situation.
Furthermore, RV Management has already initiated a review of the relevant systems and processes to prevent such errors from occurring in the future.
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