Darren Weir Cleared of Corruption Charges
Former trainer Darren Weir has been found not guilty of three charges of engaging in conduct to corrupt the outcome of a race, including the 2018 Melbourne Cup. The Victorian Racing Tribunal returned on Wednesday to announce their ruling in favor of Weir, who was banned from training for four years in February 2019 for possession of jiggers. Tribunal chairman Judge John Bowman said they were not satisfied that Racing Victoria stewards had proven that Weir’s behavior was likely to affect the outcome of a race.
A 15-minute video played during the hearing showed Weir using a hand-sized jigger seven times on Red Cardinal, nine times on Tosen Basil, and nine times on Yogi while they were running on a treadmill at his Warrnambool stables a week before the 2018 Melbourne Cup. The video showed then-assistant trainer Jarrod McLean and then stable hand Tyson Kermond standing beside Weir on the treadmill.
Japanese-bred Tosen Basil and Yogi did not make the Cup field the following Tuesday, while Red Cardinal ran second last. McLean and Kermond were also found not guilty of the corruption charges.
The case is far from over. In relation to the video, Weir has already pleaded guilty to three charges of using a jigger on horses, three charges of animal cruelty, and one charge of improper and dishonorable conduct. A directions hearing has been set for early next week for a submission on penalties.
Trainers Hit with Positive Swabs
Trainers at five Victorian stables have been charged over their horses testing positive to a breast cancer drug that Racing Victoria revealed is not legally available for human use in Australia. Racing Victoria stewards announced a total of 12 charges on Tuesday after a 12-month investigation.
Smiley Chan, Mark and Levi Kavanagh, Julius Sandhu, Symon Wilde, and Ash and Amy Yargi will all face the Victorian Racing Tribunal on charges at a date to be fixed. There are no set penalties for the presentation charges.
Each of the five stables had a horse return a positive urine sample to formestane (a steroidal aromatase inhibitor) and anabolic steroid 4-Hydroxytestosterone on different days at different racetracks within seven weeks between February and April last year.
Formestane is used internationally for the treatment of breast cancer, mainly in postmenopausal women, because it inhibits the production of estrogen. It can also lead to an increase in the body’s production of hormones and testosterone. Racing Victoria said foremestane was not registered for either human or animal use in Australia. It is also on the WADA banned list.
The five positive horses – Chan’s gelding Lake Tai, Kavanagh mare Circle Of Magic, Sandhu’s gelding Alphaville, Wilde’s mare Sirileo Miss, and the Yargi’s gelding Yulara – were stood down for a year under Racing Victoria’s mandatory suspensions for steroid positives. Their 12-month bans have now expired.
The five stables were charged by stewards under AR 240 – a prohibited substance in a sample taken from a horse at a race meeting.
In statements released in September last year, both the Kavanagh and Yargi stables pointed to contamination as a possible source of their positive swabs.
A sixth horse also returned a positive swab last year, but no action was taken because the control sample also showed traces of formestane. A control sample, used as a quality assurance measure, is taken from fluid that is rinsed through the collection pan and sample bottles before a horse’s urine sample is collected. Control samples from the other five horses did not show traces of the prohibited substances.
It took Racing Victoria stewards almost six months before they released details of the positive swabs to the public last year. There was no suggestion of how the mystery cluster had occurred.
