NSW Trainer handed nine-month suspension for improper conduct

Licensed Tamworth-based trainer Stephen Dixon has been handed a nine-month suspension by Racing NSW Stewards following a stable inspection incident and subsequent conduct towards an official.

On 25 March 2025, Racing NSW officials attended Mr Dixon’s registered training premises at Meadows Lane, Tamworth, as part of a routine stable inspection. During the visit, it was discovered that the required treatment records were not present on-site. Instead, they were being stored in a caravan located in Inverell.

Mr Dixon was instructed to provide the treatment documentation no later than Friday, 28 March 2025. The records were eventually produced at 8:37am on Saturday, 29 March 2025, when Mr Dixon met with Racing NSW Investigator Nikki Burke at Tamworth Racecourse.

It was during this meeting that Mr Dixon participated in an electronically recorded interview to discuss the treatment records. However, the situation quickly escalated. Mr Dixon became visibly upset, acting aggressively and directing improper and insulting language towards Investigator Burke. The interview was brought to an abrupt end when Mr Dixon terminated the conversation and walked away from the meeting.

Moments later, Mr Dixon returned, placed his Racing NSW licence card on the table, and declared, “No longer a trainer.”

In response to the incident, Stewards issued a charge against Mr Dixon at 12:10pm on the same day under AR228(c) — a rule pertaining to improper or insulting behaviour towards officials. Two days later, on 31 March 2025, Racing NSW enacted AR23, suspending Mr Dixon’s trainer’s licence pending a full hearing into the matter.

As a result of the suspension, Racing NSW Stewards scratched five horses under Mr Dixon’s care — Pollyanna’s Best, Tiny Missile, Flying Banjo, Dancelittlesister and Laser Guided Girl — from their scheduled engagements at Tamworth on 1 April 2025.

The formal hearing took place shortly thereafter, where a transcript of the interview was submitted into evidence and oral testimony was heard from Mr Dixon himself. He entered a guilty plea to the charge at the earliest opportunity.

The charge read:

Charge 1: AR228(c) – On 29 March 2025, during an electronically recorded interview, Mr Stephen Dixon engaged in improper and insulting behaviour by directing aggressive, improper, and insulting comments towards Racing NSW Official Nikki Burke while she was undertaking her duties.

Plea: Guilty
Finding: Guilty

In determining the penalty, Stewards considered the following:

• Mr Dixon’s early guilty plea
• The seriousness of the offence
• A prior breach of AR228(c) in December 2023
• His personal and professional circumstances
• The need for specific and general deterrence within the industry
• The broader impact on the reputation and welfare of the Thoroughbred Racing Industry

The original suspension of 12 months was reduced to nine months in recognition of his plea and other mitigating factors. The suspension was backdated to 31 March 2025 and will now conclude on 31 December 2025.

Mr Dixon was informed of his rights to appeal the decision.

Relevant Rule: AR 228(c)
A person must not engage in improper or insulting behaviour at any time towards a PRA, the Stewards, a Club, or any official, employee, contractor, or agent of any of them in relation to the relevant person’s functions, powers or duties.

— D.R. Hadley, General Manager – Investigations, Racing NSW