Another three Victorian trainers were handed fines, half of which were suspended for 12 months, as Racing Victoria stewards continued to wind up the Formestane inquiries on Wednesday.
Lloyd Kennewell, Paul Preusker and Adam Chambers remain perplexed about how Formestane was found in their horses’ samples but plead guilty to presentation charges.
Kennewell’s offence was from the win of Nursery Chime at Mornington on September 18 last year, Preusker for Chairman’s win in the 2025 Penshurst Cup on November 22 and Chambers from Major Share, which his fourth in the Imperatriz Sprint at Moonee Valley on October 25.
Kennewell and Preusker were given $6,000, with $3,000 suspended for 12 months pending no further relevant offences during that time, while Chambers was fined $4000, with $2000 suspended for a year under similar conditions.
The penalties follow precedents from other trainers involved in the saga at the Victorian Racing Tribunal.
All three horses were disqualified from the races where the offence took place.
Stewards made it clear to each of the trainers that it was only a presentation charge and not an administration charge.
Racing Victoria had initially alleged Formestane – a breast cancer drug – could have been administered either deliberately or accidentally, but are now only issuing presentation charges to the drug, even though the horses involved have been stood down from racing for 12 months from the date of their positive swab.
Trainers are still upset by the insinuation they may have cheated, maintaining their innocence, stating they had no idea how the drug entered their horses’ systems.
Kennewell, Preusker and Chambers were handled by stewards on the presentation charges, as it was removed from the Serious Offences list, which can only be heard by the Victorian Racing Tribunal.
