The Referrals Committee, Justice Tony Hunt (in the chair), Mr. Philip McLernon and Mr. Laurence McFerran convened at the Offices of the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) on Monday 19th August 2019 to consider the referral of D.K. Budds (Trainer) by the Stewards at The Curragh on 20th July 2019.

On the day, the Stewards wished to speak to Mr. Budds, trainer of Here For The Craic, regarding the refusal of his charge to start in the race. Mr. Budds failed to respond to requests to attend the Stewards' Room, and therefore the Stewards referred the matter to the Referrals Committee for further investigation.

The Referrals Committee heard evidence from Mr. Budds who outlined that he had returned to the Stable Yard immediately after the race and therefore failed to hear any request to attend the Stewards’ Room. He added that this was the third occasion in which Here For The Craic failed to start a race from Stalls despite jumping from stalls on a regular basis at home. Mr. Budds gave an undertaking that Here For The Craic would no longer be declared to run in a race starting from Stalls.

Having considered the evidence and the undertaking made by Mr. Budds, the Referrals Committee took no further action.

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