Guest fined over cruelty case

RICHARD GUEST was yesterday fined £2,750 by the disciplinary panel of the Horse Racing Regulatory Authority in relation to criminal charges brought against him last November.

Guest, along with two stable employees, Richard Dalton and Louise Tidman, appeared at Durham Magistrates’ Court after the death of a horse in their care.

The trio were each given two-year conditional discharges for causing unnecessary suffering to an animal when What’s A Filly was put down after developing a severe infection in her near-hind leg.

The panel considered whether they had committed a breach of the Rules of Racing in light of their convictions under a section of the Protection of Animals Act 1911.

After considering legal representation on behalf of Guest and written submissions on behalf of Dalton and Ms Tidman, who were unable to attend, the panel accepted admission from the trio of their guilt.

The panel fined Guest £2,750, a verdict which takes into account four different factors, including the guilty plea to the criminal offence, the court costs of £14,731, the unusual nature of the injury to the mare and the favourable results of an inspection at Guest’s yard.

Dalton and Tidman were both fined £250, a figure which reflects their personal circumstances.