Rangiora HRC 24 August 2025 – R1 – Warren Frost

Following the running of Race 1, RHRC Membership Available 2025/26 Mobile Pace (Amateur Drivers), Licensed Advanced Amateur Driver, Warren Frost, admitted a charge that, as the Driver of MOTOR MOUTH in the race, “he failed to take all reasonable and permissible measures to ensure the gelding was given full opportunity to win the race or to obtain the best possible position and/or finishing place by persisting with a challenge for the lead over the initial 600 metres, which resulted in this runner weakening to finish in 7th (last) placing, beaten 14.4 lengths”.

Rule 868 provides as follows:

(2)  Every driver shall take all reasonable and permissible measures at all times during the race to ensure that his horse is given full opportunity to win the race or to obtain the best possible position and/or finishing place.

EVIDENCE:

Stipendiary Steward, Mr Renault, showed a video replay of the race in its entirety, with particular emphasis on the first 600 metres. He pointed out the relevant runners – GLIDING HIGH (Colleen Negus), which had drawn barrier position 1 behind the mobile at the 2000 metres starting point, MOTOR MOUTH, driven by Mr Frost, which had drawn barrier 2 and, the other runner to note, he said, was SUPER FUND (Michael House), which had drawn 4.

Mr Renault showed that, in the early stages, a number of horses challenged for the lead. Mr Frost was reining his horse up and using his whip in an attempt to get to the front, but GLIDING HIGH to his inside, was leading and maintaining its position. Racing 3-wide was SUPER FUND.

Shortly thereafter, SUPER FUND was restrained and was eased back behind MOTOR MOUTH and eventually into the trail behind the leader, GLIDING HIGH. In the meantime, Mr Frost continued to drive his horse forward, attempting to get to the front. It was not until the leader reached the front straight, approximately 600 metres after the start, that Mr Frost restrained his runner and offered it some respite, Mr Renault said.

Mr Renault showed that MOTOR MOUTH continued to race in the parked position. Passing the 600 metres, Mr Frost commenced urging his runner his runner, turning his whip around and the horse began to give ground. The horse continued to give ground and finished the race last of the seven runners, over 14 lengths from the winner.

Stewards were concerned that, during the first 600 metres of the race, Mr Frost had options open to him. In particular, when it became evident that the lead was not going to be available, he had an option to take the trail, Mr Renault submitted (Mr House was able to take the trail from a position 3-wide, outside Mr Frost).

Mr Renault said that the opening quarter of the race had been unofficially hand-timed at 26.8 seconds (very quick if accurate). A post-race examination of the horse revealed no abnormalities, he said.

Mr Frost admitted that it did not look good, but the instructions from the Trainer were to “lead at all costs”, as that suits the horse best. He added that he opted not to take a trail when the leader “kicked up” because the Trainer had told him the horse does not race well in the trail, as he wears thick spreaders and tends to run out. He said that, after Mr House dropped back to trail the leader, he decided to make one more “play” for the lead, until it became apparent that Mrs Negus did not intend to give up the lead. Finally, Mr Frost said, the horse had led two starts ago and had been run down to finish 2nd.

DECISION:

The charge having been admitted, it is deemed proved.

SUBMISSIONS FOR PENALTY:

Mr Renault said that Mr Frost has had 93 lifetime drives, 3 this season and last season 17. He has a clear record. The Penalty Guide starting point is a 7-days suspension. On the basis of the usual formula for an Amateur Drive of two drives per month, the starting point would be a three-and-a-half months suspension, he said.

Mr Renault referred the Adjudicative Committee to two previous cases, Salaivao (April 2024) and Buckland-Stevens (June 2023), in which terms of suspension of 3 months and 14 weeks respectively, were handed down for breaches of the Rule.

Finally, Mr Renault said, it was the submission of Stewards that an appropriate penalty would be a suspension of 3 months.

Mr Frost said that a suspension for 1 month would be fair. He has not breached the Rule previously and has made a mistake on this occasion. Three months is a long time to be put out. He will take a lesson from this and do better in the future, he said.

REASONS FOR PENALTY:

Mr Frost has admitted a breach of the Rule, explaining that he had driven the horse in accordance with the Trainer’s instructions to “lead at all costs”. Of course, a Driver is alone responsible for how a horse is driven in a race. A Trainer may provide tactical instructions, but it is the Driver’s responsibility to drive within the Rules and the Driver is held accountable for breaches. The tactics chosen by Mr Frost were neither sensible nor justifiable. Mr Frost has failed to take all reasonable and permissible measures open to him.

The RIB Harness Racing Penalty Guide (October 2024) provides a starting point for penalty for a breach of the Rule of a 7-days suspension. That is an appropriate starting point in this case.

The Appeals Tribunal in the recent case of Wigg (August 2025), stated as follows

There have been a number of decisions previously, where the starting Guide has been amended to recognise Amateur Driver races do not take place every week. However, as a general rule, they are usually programmed fortnightly. Therefore, where the Guide makes reference to a period of suspension, it has been common practice of Adjudicative Committees to adopt a starting point, which is uplifted from the period referred to in the Guide. The Appeals Tribunal agrees this is reasonable.

So, the appropriate starting point in the case of Mr Frost (an Amateur Driver) is 14 weeks. Mitigating factors to be considered are his admission of the breach and his previous good record, spanning 93 drives, since being first licensed in 2017. Having regard to those factors, the Adjudicative Committee has decided that the appropriate penalty is a suspension of Mr Frost’s Licence for a period of 3 months.

CONCLUSION:

Licensed Advanced Amateur Driver, Warren Frost, is suspended from after the conclusion of racing on 24 August 2025, up to and including 24 November 2025 – 3 months.