Gates cleared of negligence

JUST when he thought the system had failed him, jockey Jason Gates received a notification from the National Horseracing Authority this week that his guilty verdict and R10 000 penalty imposed by a local inquiry board at Ggeberha on 28 February 2025 for a negligent or fraudulent act related to weighing, had been wholly set aside on review.

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The decision by the review board to throw the matter out indicates that the NHA realizes that there was a breakdown in the laid-down procedures, and that their own officials were not blameless — in fact they were probably negligent to some degree.

American Pitbull

In what sounds like a bizarre sitcom that involved his colleague Eldin Webber and trainer Emmanuel Kaknis and his staff, Gates was charged with a contravention of Rules 72.1.28 and 21.11, in that as the rider of American Pitbull he was alleged to have committed a negligent or fraudulent act with regard to weighing, by failing to ensure that the gelding carried the correct weight and saddle, which led to the delay of the race and resulted in the scratching of American Pitbull from Race 3 at Fairview Racecourse on 31 January 2025.

In the opening act of a comedy of errors, trainer Kaknis had four runners in the race. Gates was riding the 6 horse (American Pitbull) and Webber the 9 horse (Luck Struck).