Oh Dear- M Anderson

[JJ Flash 2,134]

Banned harness racing figure caught in breach of disqualification

Martin Van Beynen19:12, May 05 2021

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JOHN KIRK-ANDERSON/STUFF

Matt Anderson is currently banned from racecourses due to his criminal offending.

A champion harness racing driver has been caught working with horses despite a two-year ban.

Matt Anderson, an ex-New Zealand representative and national premiership-winning driver, was disqualified from working with harness horses in August last year after convictions for assaulting and choking a woman.

Racing Integrity Unit staff found Anderson, 28, helping to train horses at a training base in Rangiora run by veteran trainer Phil Burrows on Tuesday.

Burrows has held a training licence since 1996 and has more than 1500 races under his belt. When approached on Wednesday, he said he had nothing to say.

 

 

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Anderson did not answer a telephone call and did not respond to a text message.

During his judge-alone trial, Anderson denied the assault and choking offences and claimed the woman had grabbed his arm and fell when he moved away.

He was sentenced in November to three months’ community detention and 12 months’ intensive supervision.

His criminal convictions meant that under Harness Racing rules he was automatically disqualified for two years. The disqualification extends to training, assisting or being involved in any capacity in the training of any horse without an exemption. The ban would have finished in August next year.

JOE JOHNSON/STUFF

Matt Anderson was supposed to sit out an involvement with harness racing until August next year.

Anderson, with help from trainer Peter Jones and horse owner and former chair of the Harness Racing New Zealand (HRNZ) board Ken Spicer, last year approached HRNZ to see if there was a way for him to get an exemption to be a trainer.

Jones, whose stepdaughter is Anderson’s partner, publicly stated he believed racing needed a better mechanism for getting people like Anderson back into the sport. He pointed to rugby as a template for rehabilitating errant players.

Harness Racing chief executive Garry Woodham said he would need more information before he could comment.

[MAJESTIC 182]

What the F--K. Obviously if you come from north of the Waimakaria River and I refer to those on the HRNZ Board, trainer, driver, and all those involved within the industry you are exempt. Even if you are convicted and do not comply you still get away. Anderson should now be made an example of and a ten year banning would not go astray. He is nothing but trash and scum. 

[Pegasus 9 523]

Arrogant and contemptuous. Makes a mockery of  Harness Racing and its attempts to clean it up. 

[We're Doomed 4,855]

Sadly, a lot of these younger trainers have probably  been brought up on stories of shady deeds throughout the ages in harness racing, and figure they are just carrying on the way things have always been. They are probably just too thick to realise times have changed and you can't get away with tricks that might have worked 20 or 40 years ago.

[Value Bell 251]

Burrows should be out also for encouraging Anderson to commit a crime. No wonder they call them "crims on rims".

[2Piper 408]

Did the criminal judge can him from working with harness horses or the RIU/JCA /HRNZ ?

[napier 339]

56 minutes ago, 2Piper said:

Did the criminal judge can him from working with harness horses or the RIU/JCA /HRNZ ?

Who gives a shit who canned him....get rid of the arsehole for life

[tasman man 742]

13 hours ago, napier said:

Who gives a shit who canned him....get rid of the arsehole for life

Maybe ......but it is puzzling how an alleged offence can be committed on a Tuesday , then in the papers the very next day.

Gathering facts ,statements etc would normally take a little time with reports etc to go to various folk to decide on action.

Seems like the 'bloodhound' has direct line to the Press !