Queensland jockey Justin Huxtable banned from doing media interviews amid charges

Jockey Justin Huxtable has been allowed to ride by the Queensland Racing Appeals Panel under certain conditions after he was charged by police.

Jockey Justin Huxtable has been banned from pre and post-race media interviews after he was charged following a complaint from a woman. Picture: Brendan Radke

Young Queensland jockey Justin Huxtable has been banned from doing pre or post-race media interviews and riding north of Rockhampton.

Huxtable initially had his riding license suspended by the Queensland Racing Integrity Commission after he was arrested and charged by police in north Queensland in October after a complaint from a female.

Huxtable was arrested at the races at Innisfail and later charged under section 227A of the Queensland Criminal Code, recording in breach of privacy.

The act states it is illegal for a person to observe or visually record another person in circumstances where a reasonable adult would expect to be afforded privacy.

Huxtable, 24, has indicated he will defend the matter when it comes before court next year.

The alleged incident is understood to have occurred in far north Queensland earlier this year.

Huxtable appealed his riding suspension to the Queensland Racing Appeals Panel, which has now published its decision which allows him to return to riding under certain conditions.

“The Panel considers that it is possible here to impose conditions which would serve to preserve the interests of the racing industry and to minimise the risk of prejudicing the image, interest, integrity or welfare of racing without the necessity for a complete and unlimited licence suspension,” the RAP decision reads.

“Pursuant to section 252AH(1)(b) of the Racing Integrity Act our orders are that the conditions of the suspension the subject of this review should be varied as follows:

• “To limit the suspension to any location north of the city of Rockhampton.”

• “The Applicant (Huxtable) is required to continue to attend upon Awakened Lifestyles for counselling at least once a fortnight until the completion of the Immersion program, proof of which completion is to be supplied to the Respondent.”

“The Applicant is required to attend upon the stewards each fortnight to provide an update with respect to his counselling and to provide results of urine analysis testing for the presence of alcohol and drugs.”

• “The Applicant is required to not engage in any pre or post-race interviews.”

• “To otherwise not engage in any conduct assessed to be detrimental to the interests of racing.”

The RAP finding noted: “An offence against Section 227A is an indictable offence and if convicted, the Applicant would face a potential maximum penalty of three years imprisonment.”

“We would add that if the Applicant is ultimately convicted of the charge, the situation may well be different. He may well be back before the stewards, if not this Panel in respect of the matter.”

Jockey Justin Huxtable pictured in 2020.

Huxtable’s legal team had argued he should be allowed to ride for several reasons.

“To date, no particulars of the charge have been provided to him and no brief of evidence is available,” the RAP finding stated.

“His inability to work until that occurs impacts upon his ability also to fund his defence to the charge.

“The material before this panel indicates that it will likely not be until the second half of next year that the matter ultimately comes before a Magistrates Court in North Queensland.

“On the material, that could mean to the Applicant the difference between his ability to earn something in the order of $400,000 compared with his ability as a track rider, to earn perhaps something in the order of $40,000 over a 10-month period.

“Those are mere estimates, but there is clearly a significant amount involved.

“The principal difficulty confronting the panel is the length of the (riding) suspension which has been effectively imposed.

“The viability of the allegations contained in the charge, assuming it is proceeded with at all, will not be tested until the second half of 2025.”

Huxtable has ridden 419 winners in his career to date and has become a regular fly-in, fly-out jockey to North Queensland in recent times.

The South Australian-born jockey was crowned Queensland Apprentice of the Year in 2020-2021.

Originally published as Queensland jockey Justin Huxtable banned from doing media interviews amid charges