Much ado about a whiff of caffeine

Sometimes it's seen as glamorous and affluent - the "sport of kings" - with the great and the good turning out in their finery on big race days, demonstrating good taste and wealth. That's your Cape Town Met, Royal Ascot and Kentucky Derby.

But there's also run-of-the-mill racing, the foundation stone of the flashy meetings, where settings are more modest and horses are of more modest ability. Many people outside racing are suspicious of this milieu, figuring that the whole business is either crooked or cruel, or both.

Today I focus on perceptions of criminality, prompted by a High Court judgment last week that has the racing industry in uproar.

Racing has a storied history of dodgy dealing, arising from its roots in gambling and volatile money. Tales of mischief on the tracks might be entertaining, but in today's world, a business brand identity tinged with chicanery is a no-no.

Indeed, such a reputation probably has more to do with the decline of racing worldwide than is acknowledged.

Nowadays, racing authorities police the sport far more rigorously than the public is aware of. Dope testing is done after every race and jockey club laboratories are state-of-the-art. Surprise searches and tests in stables are also conducted. Videos of races are scrutinised to ensure jockeys play by the book.

This wasn't the case just a couple of decades ago, so it's fair to say racing today is a lot "cleaner" and more well-policed than it's ever been. Ironically, it was the National Horseracing Authority's vigorous application of strict rules that caused the recent rumpus.

Durban trainer James Goodman was hit with an R80000 fine in 2015 after his horse Aldric tested positive for caffeine, a banned substance. Goodman also had to pay R45500 in costs incurred by the NHA. Everyone who wants doping stamped out applauded.

But the trainer reckoned he hadn't been given a proper chance to mount a defence. For example, it is known that horse feed bought commercially is sometimes tainted with caffeine. Hardliners, on the other hand, say punters come first and, no matter what excuse there might be, a horse's performance is enhanced by a drug and there must be a sanction to keep the game as clean as possible.

Goodman took the matter to the High Court, pointing out that the legal eagle who adjudicated his case, Jonathan Witts-Hewinson, was in fact an NHA board member and, therefore, conflicted. He should have recused himself, the application asserted.

A High Court judge eventually agreed with Goodman, saying: "If a judge is in fact party to the litigation or in fact has a proprietary interest in its outcome then he is indeed sitting as a judge in his own cause."

The fine was set aside and the NHA was ordered to pay all - hefty - legal costs.

The NHA is in a sticky situation, with many of its disciplinary decisions now open to challenge. It needs to revamp the way it does things, chop-chop. Because it is the law in racing - and the law must rule.

The doping charge itself was not part of the court judgment, so theoretically Goodman still stands accused of illegality.

This unholy mess is bad for racing as it undermines all efforts to sanitise the image.

Meantime, we just keep galloping. In fact, my very own horse lines up in Race 9 at Turffontein tomorrow. I'd love to share an espresso with the lad, but I shall desist.