Liam Kauri Suspended Six National Riding Days for Trentham Careless Riding

Apprentice jockey Liam Kauri will be off the track for six National Riding Days after the Racing Integrity Board found him guilty of careless riding in Race 4 at the Wellington Racing Club meeting at Trentham Racecourse on 1 March 2026, raising immediate questions about who will pick up his booked mounts between 7 and 15 March and how that reshuffle will affect purses and betting markets. The RIB adjudicator recorded the charge as careless riding in breach of Rule 638(1)(d) against the rider of ARKSEY and found the charge proved.

The decision records the post-race proceedings: “Following the running of Race 4, the ‘BAXTERS CATERING 1600’, Mr Goodwin presented an Information charging Mr L Kauri, the Rider of ARKSEY with careless riding, in breach of Rule 638(1)(d).” The formal conclusion states the sanction in full: “Accordingly, Mr Kauri’s Licence to ride is suspended for 6 National Riding Days, to commence at the conclusion of racing on 7 March 2026, and to end at the conclusion of racing on 15 March 2026.”

At the hearing held at Trentham Racecourse, the panel heard submissions about Kauri’s riding record and immediate commitments. “Mr Goodwin advised that Mr Kauri had had 336 rides over the past 12 months, with 3 careless riding breaches on May, July, and December 2025, for which he received, on each occasion, suspensions of 5 National Riding Days.” The decision also notes that “Mr Kauri advised that he had riding commitments until 7 March 2026,” and that “Ms Clapperton said that he had a reasonable record for the number of his rides over the last 12 months.”

The RIB’s file explicitly ties the new penalty to that recent disciplinary pattern. The written reasoning begins from a baseline: “From a starting point of 5 days suspension for a low/mid breach, an uplift is required for previous similar suspensions over the last 9 months.” That uplift produced the 6 National Riding Day suspension recorded in the conclusion, moving Kauri from a standard 5-day starting point to a longer ban because of three prior careless riding suspensions in the previous 12 months.

Kauri’s record as recorded on the RIB listings includes prior entries where careless riding charges resulted in 5 National Riding Day suspensions, including the Feilding JC matter referenced as “Feilding JC 30 May 2024 – R4 – Liam Kauri” with an outcome dated 31/05/2024 and an entry listed on 24/07/2024 recording a similar 5 NR Days penalty. Those entries form the backdrop to the adjudicator’s decision to impose an uplifted sanction in the Trentham case.

The practical effect is concrete: Kauri’s licence to ride is inactive from the conclusion of racing on 7 March 2026 through the conclusion of racing on 15 March 2026, a span that will remove him from any fixtures and booked engagements in that period. The Racing Integrity Board decision page lists administrative contact details for follow up: 04 499 1090 and 0800 100 313, and gives the RIB postal address as Racing Integrity Board, PO Box 25217, Wellington, 6140.

Kauri’s suspension arrives as a reminder of the RIB’s graduated approach to repeat careless riding breaches; with 336 rides recorded over the past year and three prior suspensions in May, July and December 2025, the adjudicator treated the Trentham breach as low/mid severity but subject to uplift, producing a measured yet career-relevant sanction that will be enforced from 7-15 March 2026.