Non Raceday Inquiry – Written Decision dated 23 January 2025 – Peter Ferguson

The Respondent, Mr Peter Ferguson, is charged under r 141 of the NZGRA Rules.

Information A17985 reads: “On the 24th of October 2024, Peter Charles Ferguson, Licensed Public Trainer, was the Trainer of the greyhound GOLLY GOSH RAJA who competed in Race 9 at the Waikato Greyhound Racing Club meeting, held at Cambridge GRC. Mr Ferguson failed to present the greyhound free of the Prohibited Substance – Meloxicam, being an offence under the provisions of rr 141(1)(a) & 141(4) and subject to penalty pursuant to r 174 of the NZGRA Rules.”

The Respondent has admitted the breach of r 141(1)(a) and has accepted the Summary of Facts.

Both parties have agreed that the matter can be determined on the papers.

As the penalty submissions from the parties were disparate, a teleconference was held on 21 January 2025.

Rule 141 provides:

(1) The trainer or other person in charge of a greyhound:

(a) nominated to compete in an event; must present the greyhound free of any prohibited substance.

(3)  The trainer or person in charge of a greyhound presented contrary to subrule (1) of this rule shall be guilty of an offence.

(4) A greyhound presented for an event in circumstances where subrule (1) of this rule has been breached must be disqualified from the relevant event and from receiving any benefit derived from the relevant trial, test or examination.

The penalty provision is r 174:

(1) An Adjudicative Committee may as it thinks fit penalise a person found guilty of an offence under the Rules by any one or a combination of the following penalties:

(a) a reprimand (sometimes known as a warning or caution);

(b) a fine not exceeding $10,000.00 for any one offence except a luring and baiting offence under r 159.

(c) suspension.

(d) disqualification.

(e) cancellation of a registration or a licence, or in the case of a Club, its affiliation to GRNZ; or

(f) warning off.

(3) Any part or portion of a penalty imposed may be suspended for a time and pursuant to conditions that an Adjudicative Committee thinks fit.

Meloxicam is included in Category 5 of the GRNZ Policy Document “Categories of Prohibited Substances”. This document provides a starting point for a Category 5 offence of three months’ disqualification and/or a $4,000 fine.

Rule 174A(2) states: “An Adjudicative Committee is to have regard to the prescribed starting points when considering any matter relating to the level of penalty imposed or to be imposed in respect of an offence involving a prohibited substance.”

Summary of Facts

1. The Respondent in this matter, Peter Charles Ferguson, is 57 years of age and the holder of a Custodian/Public Trainer Licence issued by Greyhound Racing New Zealand (GRNZ).
2. Mr Ferguson currently has five dogs registered with GRNZ for greyhound racing. The dogs are kennelled and trained from his address in Hautapu, Cambridge.
3. According to GRNZ licensing records, Mr Ferguson was first licensed as a Syndicate Member in August 2008, later obtaining a Handler’s Licence in September 2013, and eventually progressing to a Trainer’s Licence in May 2016. However, it should be noted that GRNZ’s electronic licensing records only date back to August 2008.

Circumstances

4. On the 24th of October 2024 the Waikato Greyhound Racing Club conducted a race meeting at the Cambridge GR Track, Cambridge.
5. The 3-year-old greyhound GOLLY GOSH RAJA, trained by the Respondent, was entered in Race 9.
6. GOLLY GOSH RAJA was selected for pre-race swabbing prior to the race. He was presented by the Respondent to an RIB Swabbing Official and a urine sample was obtained from him at 14:06 hours.
7. He ran 8th out of 8 in Race 9 failing to secure any stake money.
8. On the 8th of November 2024, New Zealand Racing Laboratory Services (NZRLS) issued a Certificate of Analysis detailing the sample obtained from GOLLY GOSH RAJA on the 24th of October 2024, had been analysed and had returned test results for the Prohibited Drug, Meloxicam.
9. Meloxicam is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug for the alleviation of inflammation and relief of pain in both acute and chronic musculoskeletal conditions in dogs and horses.
10. Meloxicam is a Prohibited Substance listed under r 137(b)(xxii) of the GRNZ Rules and its presence in a race-day sample is, prima facie, a breach of the Rules. It is a GRNZ Category 5 Prohibited Substance – All substances that are registered in NZ for Veterinary use and have accepted therapeutic benefits to a greyhound.
11. On the 14th of November 2024, Investigators from the RIB undertook enquiries at Mr Ferguson’s kennels and training facility into the positive result for Meloxicam.
12. Part of these enquiries included the interview of the Respondent. He denied ever treating GOLLY GOSH RAJA with Meloxicam and could offer no explanation for the positive.
13. He did make admissions during the interview to having administered the anti-inflammatory, Rimadyl, in the last six months to GOLLY GOSH RAJA, post the dog running in two trials in August and October 2024.
14. Rimadyl (active ingredient: Carprofen) is also a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) commonly used in veterinary medicine to manage pain and inflammation in animals, particularly dogs. However, there are some key differences between Rimadyl and Meloxicam regarding their active ingredient.
15. Inquiries undertaken with the NZRLS confirms that the active ingredient of Carprofen in Rimadyl would not test positive as Meloxicam.
16. An inspection of the on-site kennels drug cabinet identified an expired [07/2023] empty tube of Lilium Meloxicam 1.5mg/ml oral suspension for dogs.
17. A review of his kennel treatment record log revealed no evidence of either Meloxicam or Rimadyl use.
18. When questioned about the tube of Meloxicam located within the drug cabinet, Mr Ferguson advised that he believed it was left over from post-surgery when GOLLY GOSH RAJA had a screw put in his leg approximately 12 months ago.
19. Mr Ferguson stated that he had forgotten that the tube was in the drug cabinet as the dog has had other injuries in the last 12 months or so since it had the screw inserted into its leg.
20. On the RIB locating the tube of Meloxicam, the Respondent acknowledged that he now recalls previously treated GOLLY GOSH RAJA with Meloxicam but not since the surgery over 12 months ago.
21. The RIB undertook to have the ‘B Sample’ independently tested by the Racing Analytical Services Ltd [RASL] Accredited Laboratory in Victoria, Australia.
22. On the 9th of December 2024, the RIB received notification by way of a RASL Certificate of Analysis that Sample Number 195317 (B Sample) urine sample was shown to contain the presence of Meloxicam.
23. The Respondent was questioned as to whether he was aware of the withholding period for Meloxicam, which he advised correctly as being 4.2 days.
24. Mr Ferguson’s son and daughter in-law train Harness horses under a training partnership out of the same address and do treat their horses on occasions with Meloxicam on the premises.

Conclusion

25. The Respondent denies having treated GOLLY GOSH RAJA with Meloxicam in the last twelve months.
26. An empty expired tube of Lilium Meloxicam 1.5mg/ml oral suspension for dogs was located on the premises in the kennel’s drug cabinet. Meloxicam has been identified as being used on the premises in the treatment of harness horses.
27. Mr Ferguson has been charged under r 141(1)(a) of the GRNZ Rules.
28. As the Trainer of GOLLY GOSH RAJA, Mr Ferguson has a strict liability to ensure that his registered greyhounds are free from Prohibited Substances at all times.
29. The RIB seeks disqualification of GOLLY GOSH RAJA from Race 9 on the 24th of October 2024 at the Waikato Greyhound Racing Club meeting under r 141(1)(4).
30. Betting analysis of the race revealed no irregularities.
31. Inquiries into Mr Ferguson’s judicial record with GRNZ confirms he has no previous breaches of the Prohibited Substance Rule or any serious racing offences under the Rules.

Decision

The charge has been admitted; it is found proved.

Informant’s Penalty Submissions

The Respondent is 57 years of age and the holder of a Custodian/Public Trainer Licence issued by GRNZ. He currently has five dogs registered with GRNZ for Greyhound Racing. The dogs are kennelled and trained from his address in Cambridge.

On 11 December 2024, on being charged by the RIB in relation to this breach of the Rules, Mr Ferguson advised that he was surrendering his Public Trainer’s Licence with immediate effect. GRNZ Licensing advised that they had received an email from Mr Ferguson on 11 December 2024 advising them of the surrender of his Public Trainer’s Licence, effective from that day. GRNZ, as per the Respondent’s request, had subsequently deregistered his Public Trainer’s Licence.

The breach arose from a greyhound trained by the Respondent, GOLLY GOSH RAJA, returning a positive test for the Prohibited Drug, Meloxicam, at a race meeting held by the Waikato Greyhound Racing Club on 24 October 2024. Meloxicam is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug for the alleviation of inflammation and relief of pain in both acute and chronic musculoskeletal conditions in dogs and horses. It is a Prohibited Substance listed under r 137(b)(xxii) of the GRNZ Rules and its presence in a race-day sample is, prima facie, a breach of the Rules.

The penalty provisions are contained in r 174(1) and the GRNZ Categories of Prohibited Substances. Meloxicam is included in Category 5 which lists a penalty starting point of 3 months’ disqualification and/or a fine of $4,000.

The principles of sentencing relevant to this charge can be summarised briefly as:

• Penalties are designed to punish the offender for his/her wrongdoing. They are not meant to be retributive in the sense the punishment is disproportionate to the offence, but the offender must be met with a punishment.
• In a racing context it is extremely important that a penalty has the effect of deterring others from committing similar offences.
• A penalty should also reflect the disapproval of the Adjudicative Committee for the type of offending in question.
• The need to rehabilitate the offender should be considered.

Comparable Cases

There has been no previous GRNZ positives for Meloxicam. There has been one recent case in the Thoroughbred code – RIB v Walker (31 May 2023) — $7,000 fine.

The most recent GRNZ cases for a breach of a Category 5 Prohibited Substances are:

• RIB v McInerney (19 December 2024)

Trainer McInerney was charged with failing to present a greyhound free of the Prohibited Substance Dexamethasone. He received a penalty of a suspended fine of $1,500. $500 of this fine (one third) was suspended for a period of 12 months from the date of the Decision, pursuant to r 174(3). The sum of $1,000 was payable immediately.

• RIB v Roberts (17th September 2021)

Ketoprofen positive. No source identified. Considered to be a low degree of culpability. Two previous historical breaches treated as neutral. From a starting point of $3,000, he was fined $2,000.

In three recent New South Wales Greyhound Meloxicam cases of similar circumstance investigated by the Greyhound Welfare and Integrity Commission (GWIC), the penalties imposed were:

• GWIC v Jenner (26 November 2024) — 9-week suspension.
• GWIC v Lord (10 March 2024)— fine of $500 and a 4-week suspension, wholly and conditionally suspended for 12 months.
• GWIC v McDonald (22 January 2024) — fine of $1,000 and a 3-week suspension, wholly and conditionally suspended for 12 months.

Aggravating Features

An inspection of the on-site kennels drug cabinet identified an expired [07/2023] empty tube of Lilium Meloxicam 1.5mg/ml oral suspension for dogs.

A review of the Respondent’s kennel treatment record log revealed no evidence of Meloxicam usage.

Mitigating Features

Mr Ferguson has admitted the charge at the earliest opportunity and has been cooperative and respectful with RIB staff throughout the process.

Mr Ferguson has no previous breaches of the Prohibited Substance Rule or any serious racing offences under the Rules of GRNZ.

As a Registered Trainer at the time of the offending, Mr Ferguson had a strict liability to ensure that his registered greyhounds were free from Prohibited Substances at all times.

The RIB submitted that given the recommended starting point of a 3-month disqualification and/or a fine of $4,000, the mitigating and aggravating factors as listed and the overall circumstances considered in this case, a $1,500 fine was the appropriate penalty. The RIB acknowledged the Respondent’s current non-licence status.

GOLLY GOSH RAJA was required to be disqualified from Race 9 on 24 October 2024 at the Waikato Greyhound Racing Club meeting pursuant to r 141(4).

No costs were sought.

Respondent’s Penalty Submissions

The Respondent made a written penalty submission in which he confirmed that he admitted the charge and accepted the Summary of Facts. He reiterated he was still unaware of how the positive test came about.

There was no record of GOLLY GOSH RAJA being treated with Meloxicam or Rimadyl in the kennel treatment record. This was due to the seriousness of his injuries (fractured hock and badly torn gracilis). There was no expectation of him returning to racing, so he was treated as a retired greyhound. It was not until some months after each injury that it was decided to try him again after he started galloping around freely.

Given the nature of greyhounds, the potential for contamination was endless and he had pleaded guilty to presenting, at the first discussion with Mr Carr.

Mr Ferguson said he had held one or more Licences in the Racing Industry (3 codes) for 40 years, including as a Harness Trainer. He had never had any drug related charges against him.

In those 40 years, he had served on many committees and associations in both Harness and Greyhounds. He had also given his time to mentor many young people in both codes and he was extremely proud that he had been able to help them succeed in their careers. He did not want to see that the penalty he received, define his contribution to the Racing Industry.

In anticipation of penalty, he had handed his Greyhound Public Trainer’s Licence into the RIB and GRNZ on 11 December 2024. Leading up to this, he had arranged for his greyhounds to be transferred to the care of other Trainers.

He was not in a financial position to pay a fine and submitted that r 174(1)(e) cancellation of Licence was the appropriate penalty. This was the common penalty in the three NSW cases listed in the RIB penalty submissions.

Mr Ferguson said he realised that this penalty had to be for a reasonable period and fully accepted that this could be between 6 to 12 months before he was able to reapply for his Licence.

If there had to be some monetary penalty attached as well, he asked that this is by way of a suspended penalty on good behaviour as had been the norm in some recent cases.

His early guilty plea and desire to have the submissions done by papers, was to avoid both parties having unnecessary costs.

Reasons for Penalty

The reason for the positive result to Meloxicam from an analysis of the post-race sample taken from GOLLY GOSH RAJA is unknown. An expired tube of Meloxicam was located in the drug cabinet on the Respondent’s property. Mr Ferguson advised that he believed it was left over from post-surgery when GOLLY GOSH RAJA had a screw put in his leg approximately 12 months ago. Meloxicam had also been identified as being used on the premises in the treatment of Harness horses.

This case is quite different to the recent Cobalt positives in the Industry where the source was the greyhounds chewing tanalised fencing timber in their yard and housing. This danger was not known to the various Respondents, despite Industry alerts. In these cases, fully suspended fines were imposed with the Adjudicative Committees seeing fit to avail themselves of r 174(3) and finding that the breach did not require a punitive penalty.

A tube of Meloxicam was present in the Ferguson kennel. There was no record of GOLLY GOSH RAJA being treated with this drug, although, as noted, Mr Ferguson states that while the greyhound had not been treated with this drug in recent times, it had been given to the dog in the past.

Mitigating factors are the Respondent’s early admission of the breach, his lengthy unblemished drug record spanning multiple codes, his good character and standing in the Racing Industry over a number of years, and his co-operation with the RIB investigation.

In addition to the starting point in the Categories of Prohibited Substances, the Decisions in the Australian cases and that in McInerney (where the drug was Dexamethasone and not Meloxicam) are helpful guides in deciding penalty in this case. The maximum penalty and the starting point for Prohibited Substances was considerably higher in the related Thoroughbred case of Walker, where the drug appeared to have been administered to the horse through human error as to the identity of two horses boxed next to each other. This has the effect of making that case not a useful precedent for the level of penalty in this case. This fact notwithstanding, the Adjudicative Committee notes that the penalties in the Thoroughbred cases cited in Walker were a fine of $2,800 of RIU v Lucock and Gillespie (07/2018) and $3,000 in RIU v Pertab (05/2019). In both these cases, the positive result was returned at Trials.

The Informant has not sought disqualification of the Respondent and with Mr Ferguson’s involvement also in the Harness Racing Industry, it is accepted that such a penalty would be problematic for him. The Informant seeks a fine of $1,500. Mr Ferguson says his financial situation is such that he would prefer a penalty of the cancellation of his Licence and that any fine be fully suspended.

In imposing penalty, the Adjudicative Committee has regard to the need first, to ensure that the Rules are complied with; secondly, to uphold and maintain the high standards expected of Trainers; and, thirdly, to protect the reputation and public assurance as to the integrity of Greyhound Racing.

Having regard to the starting point of a $4,000 fine, the circumstances of the breach and the personal mitigating factors, the Adjudicative Committee believes a fine of $1,500, as submitted by the Informant, is appropriate. The strength of the personal circumstances, and in particular the Respondent’s 40-year unblemished drug record and lengthy involvement in administration in the general Racing Industry, leads the Adjudicative Committee to further conclude that a partial suspension of this fine is appropriate, with a third of this amount being suspended for 12 months. It may be that Mr Ferguson does not return to the Industry, in which case the suspended element of this penalty will never be activated. However, he has indicated during the teleconference that he intends to apply for re-instatement of his Licence.

Penalty

The penalty is one of a fine of $1,500. $500 of this fine is suspended for a period of 12 months from the date of this Decision, pursuant to r 174(3), on the condition that the Respondent does not commit any further breach of the Rules of GRNZ within that period, other than a minor Raceday incident dealt with under the Minor Infringement Scheme, in which case the total fine will immediately become payable.

Disqualification

GOLLY GOSH RAJA is disqualified from his 8th placing in Race 9, the Vetora Cambridge Sprint PBD, on 24 October 2024 at the Waikato Greyhound Racing Club meeting, pursuant to r 141(4).

Costs

The RIB did not seek costs and as the matter was heard on the papers, there are no adjudicative costs.