Racing’s ongoing drug saga could take at least another year to fix as more trainers get set to run through costly court battles.
Six trainers have now pleaded guilty to having a banned breast cancer drug, Formestane, in their horse’s system. Five trainers so far have received fines, with experienced trainer Tom Dabernig set to get his penalty, likely a fine, in July.
But all six claim they are innocent and the drug found in their horses is actually a naturally produced substance.
It’s a claim Racing Victoria now accept is entirely possible – and will spend decent money on investigating whether it is true.
The bizarre drug saga in Victoria comes as new UK research recently found that Formestane was found to be naturally produced in 92 out of 136 horses. It adds significant support to claims from Victorian trainers that they in fact did nothing wrong.
It is worth noting that the research will not be fully peer reviewed until some stage in 2027 and the full research was not made available at a recent Australian conference, a reason why Racing Victoria say they won’t rely on it to stop their prosecutions.
Several senior racing figures remain dumbfounded by Racing Victoria’s insistence to continue with their legal processes or at least not work to find a national approach to the saga. The situation has been discussed at Racing Victoria board level.
Racing Victoria have also previously said the current rules of racing essentially make them prosecute potentially innocent trainers anyway who may test positive.
But local trainers facing a costly legal process won’t receive any short-term reprieves, with Racing Victoria telling Betsy their own research that could pave way for change is at least 12 months away from being complete.
The laboratory who tested the positive samples is doing their research, Racing Analytical Services Limited, and have begun their work.
This means more trainers are set to face the legal system while these serious doubts remain, with Patrick Payne up next.
The Australian Trainers’ Association vice president Dan Bowman said last week the prosecution of trainers was a waste of cash
“It’s clear none of these trainers have done anything wrong, and yet we’re pursuing them through charging them and taking them through the proceedings, paying lawyers and solicitors money to fight the cases for them,” he said.
“It’s just irresponsible use of funds.”
