It has been reported that an unidentified male has been disqualified for two years and fined $350 after having thrown a ballpoint pen into the field of horses which were contesting the $1 million New Zealand Trotting Cup at Addington
Raceway this past November.
According to a report by the Otago Daily Times, Harness Racing New Zealand charged the individual citing actions detrimental to the interests of harness racing. The article explains that the defendant's employer had asked that neither his nor the defendant's name be made public, and HRNZ did not object to the request.
The report states that the individual was in a corporate section inside of the track located 40 metres from the finish line.
"As they went past me I was basically jokingly making out I had lost money on the race and foolishly drew a pen from my pocket," the individual in question was quoted as saying.
The individual went on to say that he meant to drop the pen behind his back before following through with a throwing motion. "I intended to drop the pen behind my back," he said.
The report cites the individual as saying that the prank was an act of drunken stupidity, and that he had consumed approximately ten 330ml bottles of lager during the day; although, the individual did describe his condition as "merry but not intoxicated."
(With files from Otago Daily Times)