Driver Brett Thomas Fined $1,000 for Betting on His Own Race

Licensed open driver Brett Mark Thomas has been fined $1,000 after admitting he placed a bet on ZEUS, the horse he was driving, through his TAB "Betcha" account two days before the race at Motukarara Raceway.

The Racing Integrity Board issued its written decision on March 13, 2026, finding Thomas in breach of HRNZ Rule 505(1), which prohibits a driver from betting, or having another person bet on their behalf, on any horse in a race they are competing in. Under Rule 505(2), such a breach is declared a serious racing offence.

Thomas placed the bet on November 21, 2025, ahead of Race 3 at the Banks Peninsula Trotting Club meeting held at Motukarara Racecourse on November 23. The charge was straightforward: he had bet on the horse he was driving in that very race.

The matter was determined on the papers, meaning no oral hearing took place. Adjudicator Geoff Hall accepted the submission of Senior Racing Investigator Simon Irving, who recommended the $1,000 fine. The decision noted that the penalty "is appropriate in the circumstances of this case and is in accord with precedent."

Thomas admitted the charge, and the Racing Integrity Board imposed no additional sanctions. No adjudication costs were sought or awarded.

The case, filed under RIB case ID RIB63543, is a reminder that New Zealand's harness racing rules draw a hard line between a driver's role behind the horse and their activity in the betting ring. A driver holds a position of competitive influence that regulators treat as fundamentally incompatible with wagering on the outcome of their own race, regardless of how the bet is placed or which account is used.