NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • Deloitte Fast 50
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Sport / Racing

Racing: Champion driver fined for inadvertently betting against her own horse

Michael Guerin
By Michael Guerin
Racing Editor·NZ Herald·
21 Dec, 2015 02:15 AM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Mark Purdon driving Lazarus (outside) battles with Natalie Rasmussen driving Chase The Dream to win race 7 Sires Stakes Final during the New Zealand Trotting Cup. Photo / Getty

Mark Purdon driving Lazarus (outside) battles with Natalie Rasmussen driving Chase The Dream to win race 7 Sires Stakes Final during the New Zealand Trotting Cup. Photo / Getty

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Champion harness racing driver Natalie Rasmussen has escaped with a fine for inadvertently betting against her own horse in New Zealand's richest pacing race.

Rasmussen, a four-time Inter Dominion winning trainer and driver of the mighty Blacks A Fake, was found guilty of three charges relating to two bets placed on horses she trains with partner Mark Purdon on New Zealand Cup day at Addington on November 10.

Rasmussen placed a $200 futures bet at a price of $4 through her TAB account on Smolda to win the New Zealand Cup two weeks before the race when she was sidelined with a raceday injury, thinking she would not be driving at the meeting, let alone in the Cup.

She staged a remarkable recovery from a broken arm and surprisingly drove Messini into fifth in the Cup, while Smolda finished second to Arden Rooney in the $750,000 race.

Rasmussen also placed a $100 fixed odds win bet on Chase The Dream, which she drove, in the Sires' Stakes Final two days before the race. It ran second to stablemate Lazarus.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

In coming to their decision on penalty, the Judicial Control Authority took into account the unusual circumstances of the case, with a driver betting against their own horse in the biggest race of the season usually certain to bring a suspension.

Instead Rasmussen was fined $3750 plus ordered to pay $350 costs.

Rasmussen admitted to the Herald yesterday she made a mistake and said it was embarrassing.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"It all started when the TAB contacted me in October because I hadn't been using by account and said it would be closed," says Rasmussen.

"So I decided to have a couple of bets to keep it open. I usually only bet with I am having a day at the the races with the girls and not involved.

"So I backed Smolda because I was injured at the time and thought there was no chance I'd be driving at the meeting. In fact, I was going to be back in Queensland recovering.

"But the arm healed quicker than I thought and I got a clearance to drive a few days before the Cup and decided to drive Messini.

Discover more

Racing

Jockeys trampled after horror racing fall

05 Dec 05:50 AM
Racing

Racing: High five from 'The Hoof'

13 Dec 08:01 PM
Racing

Racing: Xtravagant should be too good

23 Dec 09:41 PM

"I didn't give the bet on Smolda a second thought and obviously it didn't effect the way I drove." The JCA heard from stipendiary steward Nigel McIntyre that after reviewing Rasmussen's drive on Messini he was satisfied its integrity could not be questioned.

Rasmussen said she was unaware she was supposed to inform the stewards about the bet so they could have it removed and approve her engagement for Messini.

"I really didn't think about it but I was explained the rules about what I should have done a couple of days after Cup day and the rules are the rules. I was in the wrong but there was no malice in it from my side.

"Its embarrassing but I have to cop the fine and move on."

Rasmussen said she bets so rarely, a fact backed up by a Racing Integrity Unit audit of her account, that she was unaware New Zealand drivers are not allowed to bet on their own horses, hence her bet on Chase The Dream.

The decision not to suspend Rasmussen will rankle some in the industry, not so much for the Chase The Dream bet because she was driving him, but the Messini bet, especially considering it was the New Zealand Cup.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

But the reality is her $200 bet for a $600 profit was hardly likely to be playing on her mind before or during the Cup when had Messini won she would have pocketed $41,250 in driving and her half of the training percentages.

The JCA summation relating to the New Zealand Cup stated:

"There is no suggestion that the respondent (Rasmussen) has in any way driven improperly in the race.

"In addition, her actions are in essence an oversight on her part. The unchallenged evidence is to the effect that Ms Rasmussen is an irregular bettor and had overlooked the fact the she had placed a futures bet on Smolda when she accepted a drive on Messini."

There is a precedent for the decision, with two other Canterbury drivers being given fines only in the last 18 months for betting on the Drivers Challenge.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Racing

Racing

Cocaine disqualification prompts top jockey to make lifestyle changes

Racing

Mick On Monday: Aussies after Canterbury’s biggest races

Racing

'Perfect ride': Lawson-Carroll hits victory milestone with Rotorua win


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Racing

Cocaine disqualification prompts top jockey to make lifestyle changes
Racing

Cocaine disqualification prompts top jockey to make lifestyle changes

A star jockey realised he needed to make huge changes if he wanted to make a comeback.

21 Jul 02:27 AM
Mick On Monday: Aussies after Canterbury’s biggest races
Racing

Mick On Monday: Aussies after Canterbury’s biggest races

20 Jul 05:00 PM
'Perfect ride': Lawson-Carroll hits victory milestone with Rotorua win
Racing

'Perfect ride': Lawson-Carroll hits victory milestone with Rotorua win

19 Jul 06:43 AM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP