The Referrals Committee, Sean Barry, (in the chair), Robert Dore and N.B. Wachman met at the Turf Club, Curragh, Co. Kildare on Monday, 23rd October 2017 to consider the referral of D.J. Benson, Qualified Rider. The committee were asked to consider whether or not Mr. Benson was in breach of Rule 272 (ii), in that he may have provided misleading information to or gave false evidence at a Stewards Enquiry in Roscommon on 4th September 2017.

At the enquiry which was held into the failure of Noel Meade, Trainer, to nominate a rider before the designated time for Kirwans Lane in the Four Roads (Pro-Am) INH Flat Race, D.J. Benson stated that he had returned his licence renewal forms to the H.R.I but they appeared to have been mislaid and that he had to reapply that morning when the Turf Club opened for business which was the day of the Roscommon race. He confirmed that his licence was granted that morning.

Evidence was heard from D.J. Benson. The committee also noted an email from HRI which stated that they never received any forms from Mr. Benson.

In his evidence, Mr. Benson said that he had asked his Mother to post his application form for his licence renewal and that he had inadvertently told the Roscommon stewards that it had been posted to HRI, when in fact it was posted to the Turf Club. He said the confusion arose as he had phoned HRI to find out why he couldn’t be nominated for the ride. He said that he had not intended to ignore correspondence from the Turf Club on the matter and apologised to all concerned for the mess which had arisen as a result.

Having considered the evidence, the Referrals Committee found that D.J. Benson was not in breach of Rule 272(ii) and took no further action. However, he was reminded of his responsibilities to ensure that he deals with all administrative matters on a timelier basis.

The case was presented by Cliodhna Guy, Solicitor, Head of Licensing, Legal and Compliance.