One of the horses, 5-year-old trotter Jimmy Cannon, was listed as dead on the Harness Racing New Zealand (HRNZ) website last month, amid rumours he has been shot. The other horse has since been cleared to race again.
Joseph Johnson/Stuff
Stable to Stirrup Charitable Trust trainer Rebecca Nairn and chairman Carl Markham. Stable to Stirrup chairman Carl Markham, who also breeds standardbred racehorses, said most in the industry cared a lot about their animals, and wanted them to have a good life after racing. “People think we make all this money from the horses, then we dump them, and they get shot. But there are people [like the trust] who do care, and who will give them that second chance.
Jesse Alford injected horses he trained with formalin, a banned substance.
An animal rights group has called for a disgraced harness racing trainer caught injecting two horses with a prohibited substance to face criminal charges. Jesse Alford appeared at a penalty hearing before the Judicial Control Authority at Addington Raceway on Wednesday after pleading guilty to two charges of administering a prohibited substance on race day and one of attempting to administer a prohibited substance. At the hearing it was revealed that Racing Integrity Unit (RIU) investigators planted a hidden camera near the Woodend Beach stables the 30-year-old shared after receiving a tip he was doping horses.
Sam Sherwood16:45, May 05 2021
CHRIS SKELTON/Stuff
Jesse Alford injected horses he trained with formalin, a banned substance.
Details of a secret sting that caught disgraced harness racing trainer Jesse Alford injecting two horses with a prohibited substance have emerged at a hearing where integrity officials called for him to be banned from the sport for nine years. Alford appeared at a penalty hearing before the Judicial Control Authority at Addington Raceway on Wednesday after pleading guilty to two charges of administering a prohibited substance on race day and one charge of attempting to administer a prohibited substance. At the hearing it was revealed that Racing Integrity Unit (RIU) investigators planted a hidden camera near the Woodend Beach stables the 30-year-old shared after receiving a tip he was doping horses.
Stuff Sports
20 April, 2021, 10:05 am
Jesse Alford was suspended in February after Racing Integrity Unit investigators caught him administering a substance to two horses. (File photo)
A Canterbury harness racing trainer has pleaded guilty to administering a prohibited substance to two horses on race day.
The trainer, who faces a potential life ban, says he is sorry for his actions, saying they “have no place in racing”.
Jesse Alford was suspended in February after Racing Integrity Unit (RIU) investigators caught him injecting a substance to two horses, Johnny Nevits and Jimmy Cannon, at his stables in Woodend Beach, two hours before they were due to take the track.
Harness racing trainer pleads guilty to injecting horses with banned substance stuff.co.nz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from stuff.co.nz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.