More charged in race-fixing case
A total of 10 people have now been charged in relation to Operation Inca
Three more people have been caught up in a major police probe into alleged racefixing and drugs in the New Zealand harness racing industry. The Canterbury-based trio appeared at Christchurch District Court yesterday on multiple drug-dealing allegations.
They appeared in the same court as promising young driver Matthew Anderson, a 26-year-old of Woodend Beach, 25km north of Christchurch, who faces a fraud-related charge.
Details of the charge are subject to an interim suppression order made yesterday by a judge.
He’s also accused of supplying a Class-B controlled drug.
Anderson was granted bail with special conditions that he does not attend any race meetings, horse trials, or workouts.
He’ll be back at Christchurch District Court next Tuesday when four men — aged 34, 40, 41, and 44 — are due to appear on match-fixing charges. A 41-year-old woman is due to appear the same day on two counts of supplying Class-B drugs and a 47-year-old man will appear in Palmerston North District Court charged with deception by match-fixing.
Police on Tuesday carried out nine search warrants on stables and properties in Christchurch, one in Invercargill and another in Manawatu.
Yesterday, a 30-year-old trainer appeared at Christchurch District Court on drug-dealing charges and unlawful possession of a restricted weapon. Judge Tony Couch refused an application for name suppression, but defence counsel Andrew McCormick immediately indicated he would appeal the decision to the High Court. The man has interim name suppression until 4pm tomorrow to give his lawyer time to file an appeal. He was remanded on bail without plea to September 26.
A 49-year-old Christchurch man also facing drugs charges made no plea and was remanded on bail to September 26. He was granted interim suppression of name and occupation.
Elie Sawma, a 42-year-old from the Papanui area of Christchurch, has also been charged. He faces seven allegations that between May 28 and July 20 this year, he supplied the Class-B controlled drug MDMA. He also faces a charge of possessing MDMA and on June 28, offering to supply the Class-A drug cocaine.
Sawma was remanded on bail by consent to October 4.
A total of 10 people have now been charged in relation to Operation Inca — a 17-month National Organised Crime Group investigation into alleged corruption in harness racing.
Yesterday’s arrests were the result of a further six search warrants conducted in Christchurch yesterday morning, taking the total number of search warrants to 17.
The show will go on. There will be winners and losers at Cambridge tonight as harness racing returns to the track just a day after one of the worst scandals in New Zealand’s racing history erupted.
Eight harness racing identities and two people linked to the racing industry have been charged with either connection to race fixing or drug supply, leaving many in racing shaken and stunned.
With some of harness racing’s biggest and brightest names already charged and set to appear in court next Tuesday, the industry’s reputation has taken a battering that could take years to mend.
Depending on the outcome of those court cases, harness racing may never be the same again.
But the business of racing continues, even at Addington tomorrow night where up to eight of those charged could have had horses racing but will now not be allowed to attend. “We have not given any consideration to stopping racing because of this. None,” said Harness Racing New Zealand chief executive Edward Rennell. “That would penalise good people who work hard and have horses that are being aimed at races this week and in the weeks coming up.
“It would penalise everybody in the industry and that isn’t going to happen. We will keep racing and HRNZ will deal with these matters as they come to our attention and go through the courts.”
Even one of harness racing’s showcase events, the annual Horse of the Year awards, will still be held at Alexandra Park on September 29, even though some of those charged will be eligible for awards.
HRNZ has no real option, racing is first and foremost a business, one which thousands depend on to pay their bills. They can’t halt that for what is, so far, eight people directly employed inside that machine.
At tonight’s Cambridge meeting there will be plenty of horses but one giant elephant, one topic of discussion that dominates.
Tomorrow’s Addington meeting could be more like a wake after the Operation Inca investigation.
We have not given any consideration to stopping racing because of this. None. That would penalise good people who work hard and have horses that are being aimed at races this week and in the weeks coming up. Harness Racing New Zealand chief executive Edward Rennell
The absence of huge stars will leave a hole impossible to ignore.
Harness racing has weathered scandals before, first the milkshaking epidemic of the early 1990s and then the Blue Magic scandal of 2005 that, in part, led to two people inside the industry taking their lives.
Harness racing survived, as have most codes of racing worldwide when betting scandals go public.
Over the last year the Victorian thoroughbred industry was rocked by a high-profile drug story involving one of its biggest racing operations.
Betting figures from the first group one of the season at Caulfield last Saturday suggest punters there had short memories and were quickly back in the swing.
Harness racing will survive this week and the months that lie ahead but the timing could not be worse.
The code is already set to have a reduced percentage of TAB turnover if recommendations of last week’s Messara report are fully implemented to benefit the thoroughbred industry.
Harness racing is fighting hard to retain its market share and the fact such high profile industry participants are involved is a lot harder to overcome than a few small-time cowboys.
Owners who have invested heavily in some of the more successful stables could be left with a bad taste in their mouths and maybe even something worse. Doubt.
Doubt that their horses were always given the chances they should have been and those doubts will linger, rightly or wrongly, until many of the charges laid yesterday are fully exposed in the courts and the extent of any alleged offence is known.
What will be lost in the storm that harness racing now finds itself in the eye of is that most people and most horses are doing what they should be doing. Trying to win.
But even the most optimistic harness racing fans might doubt things will ever be the same again.
The game will go on. There might just be a few less players.