Six Victorian trainers are the latest to be caught up in racing’s ongoing drug saga, with Racing Victoria revealing on Friday they have laid a series of fresh charges.
Racing Victoria has been dealing with why a number of horses have returned a series of positive tests involving the banned substance Formestane, a breast cancer drug, despite every trainer alleging they have no idea how the product came into their system.
Despite initially alleging that either deliberate or accidental administration was possible, Racing Victoria later conceded that it is a substance that may be naturally produced by horses, an argument trainers have long pushed.
Racing Victoria has now funded an international study to discover whether the drug is in fact naturally produced, but says under the rules of racing, they must charge trainers regardless.
A series of trainers have already been forced to plead guilty and pay fines, but remain outraged by their charges and subsequent fines. All had Formestane and its metabolite 4-hydroxytestosterone in their runners’ system.
Racing Victoria, in a release, confirmed six further trainers have been charged.
They are Matthew Brown, Adam Chambers, Nathan Dunn, Lloyd Kennewell, Paul Preusker plus Lee and Shannon Hope.
In a further blow to trainers and their owners, all horses must now be stood down for 12 months and all prize money is forfeited, despite the real possibility that those involved have done nothing wrong.
‘’Racing Victoria advises that it has issued charges against six licensed trainers who each presented a horse to race with formestane, 4-hydroxytestosterone and 6a-hydroxyandrostenedione within their system which is prohibited under the Australian Rules of Racing (AR),’’ the Racing Victoria statement said.
‘’The charges relate to samples collected on racedays between 14 April 2025 and 22 November 2025.
‘’Investigations into the samples have continued in the period since their collection with RV Stewards examining stable environments, products and practices before determining to proceed with presentation charges against each trainer pursuant to AR 240(2).
‘’The trainers have not been charged with administering a prohibited substance, be that inadvertently or deliberately. A presentation charge means that a prohibited substance is detected in a sample taken from a horse brought to a racetrack. The circumstances that led to the detection of a prohibited substance do not need to be established for a presentation charge.’’
The latest charges relate to six horses that returned positive samples on raceday between April and November 2025: Iluvcoffee (Lee and Shannon Hope) at Benalla on April 14, Inthelapofthegods (Nathan Dunn) at Mornington on May 12, Rip ‘N’ Rip (Matthew Brown) at Bendigo on July 13, Nursery Chime (Lloyd Kennewell) at Mornington on September 18, Major Share (Adam Chambers) at Moonee Valley on October 25, and Chairman (Paul Preusker) at Penshurst on November 22.
No more cases pending
In a curious addition to today’s charges, Racing Victoria confirmed there are no further active investigations regarding Formestane, meaning there have been no new positive tests since November 2025.
Why there is now a lull in positive cases is likely to form part of Racing Victoria’s ongoing investigations.
Several leading racing figures have also questioned why those who have returned positive tests are only small operations, with the larger stables yet to be caught up in the saga.
‘’Including the six announced today, a total of 13 thoroughbred racehorses from 13 training stables were presented to race in Victoria between February 2023 and November 2025 with formestane, 4-hydroxytestosterone and 6a-hydroxyandrostenedione detected in their system.
There have been no detections confirmed in thoroughbreds presented on course to race in Victoria in the eight months since November 2025 and there are no further cases currently under investigation.
As previously reported by Betsy, the laboratory conducting the testing, Racing Analytical Services Limited [RASL], has insisted there have been no changes to their processes or equipment and has ruled out contamination as authorities look for answers as to why the positive tests emerged, then stopped.
According to the Racing Victoria release, RASL has conducted 40,000 tests, with Formestane detected in only 0.06 per cent of cases.
Fines and lawyers’ fees to cost trainers
The trainers caught up in the drug saga have so far had fines to pay on top of expensive legal fees.
Trainers Smiley Chan, Julius Sandhu and Ash and Amy Yargi were all fined $4000, while Mark and Levi Kavanagh and Symon Wilde received $6000 fines because of previous incidents.
The latest trainers charged are likely to receive fines in a similar range.
