LEGENDARY trainer Ron Ball has been banned for life by the Queensland All Codes Racing Industry Board in the aftermath of the live-baiting scandal.

Ball had previously been issued a show cause notice as to why he should not be warned off, with the QACRIB considering his application before making their decision to ban him on Tuesday.

He is the 22nd greyhound trainer to be banned in the state, while he was also stripped of his Hall of Fame honour which he received in 2011.

Ball is one of the most highly-regarded conditioners in the whole country, having trained former champion sprinter Flying Amy throughout the entirety of her career.

He is now forbidden from ever attending a greyhound meeting or betting on greyhounds, thoroughbreds or harness races – essentially he is not allowed to participate in the racing industry in any way.

Ball has not been issued with any criminal charges.

Norman Desmond Sykes cleared of live-baiting

NORMAN Desmond Sykes has had his trainer’s license re-instated after he was suspended in March for alleged involvement in the practise of live-baiting.

Racing Queensland considered the submissions put forward at a show cause hearing and subsequently ruled that there was insufficient evidence to sustain live-baiting charges.

Sykes is now allowed to resume training and racing greyhounds.

Eric Conroy fined

Racing Queensland conducted an inquiry last week after the prohibited substance Sotalol was found in a urine sample taken from the greyhound Malloury Queen when it competed at Bundaberg on March 14, 2015.

Evidence was taken from Malloury Queen’s trainer, Eric Conway, who was subsequently charged with a breack of GAR 83(2)(a) in that he presented his greyhound in a state not free of a prohibited substance.

Conway pleaded guilty to the charge and was issued with a $1000 fine.

New South Wales

JOHN Cini has faced Greyhound Racing NSW Stewards after a cocktail of drugs was detected in a urine sample taken from one of his greyhounds after it won a race at Gunnedah on January 10, 2015.

Cini was charged with a breach of GAR 83 (2) after his chaser, Deb’s Dream, returned a sample which showed the presence of prohibited substances 5b-androstane-2a, 17b-diol, Flunixin, and Boldenone and its metabolite Androsta-1, 4 diene-3, 17 dione.

Evidence was taken from numerous people including Dr Adam Cawley from the Australian Racing Forensic Laboratory (ARFL) who stated that the estimated level of 5b-androstane-2a, 17b-diol found in the greyhound’s system was 460ng/ml, the second highest finding recorded by the ARFL. The levels were consistent with the drug being administered 12 to 20 hours before the collection of the urine sample.

In addition, the approximate level of Flunixin, 10,000ng/ml, was the highest level that the lab had ever recorded, with the substance thought to have been administered two to four hours prior to the swab being taken.

Cini pleaded not guilty to the charge of presenting his greyhound in a state not free of a prohibited substance, but could not explain why the four drugs were found in its system. He has subsequently been disqualified for a period of two years.

Deb’s Dream was also disqualified from the event.

Victoria

THE Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) has upheld the decision made by the GRV Racing Appeals and Disciplinary Board (RADB) to disqualify prominent trainer Michelle Mallia-Magria.

Mallia-Magria was disqualified for a period of four months and fined $2,000 for a breach of GAR 83 (2)(3) after her greyhound, See Him Next, returned a positive swab to the prohibited substance 4-Hydroxy Xylazine at Ballarat on November 5, 2014.

The VCAT have ruled that Mallia-Magria is allowed to continue to reside on her property where greyhounds are kennelled and trained by her husband.

Wayne Gray suspended

TRAINER Wayne Gray appealed a three month suspension handed down to him by Greyhound Racing Victoria Stewards at Shepparton on April 21, 2015, after it was determined that his greyhound, Why Not Lucy, was found to have the permanently banned substance Morphine present in an out of competition urine sample taken on January 8, 2015.

The GRV Racing Appeals and Disciplinary Board (RADB) determined last week that Gray was guilty as charged of a breach of GAR 79(A)(4)(i) and suspended him for the period from April 21, 2015 through to May 17, 2015 and from May 25, 2015, through to June 28, 2015. The breaks within his suspension indicate when he was granted a stay of proceedings between the original steward’s decision and the RADB’s final verdict.

Sam Labozzetta fined

AN OUTBURST at the Warragul meeting on February 10, 2015, has cost trainer Sam Labozzetta $800 after he pleaded guilty to breaches of GAR 86 (g) and 86 (p) in that he verbally threatened GRV steward Carl Scott and failed to comply with his orders.

Labozzetta was also suspended for three months, however that penalty has been wholly suspended for 12 months pending no further breaches of GAR 86 (g).

William Strangio disqualified

WILLIAM Strangio has been disqualified for six months, three of which have been suspended for 12 months.

Strangio appeared before the GRV RADB where he pleaded guilty to a breach of GAR 83(2)(3) after his greyhound, Nirtofied, returned a positive pre-race urine sample to the prohibited substance 6a Hydroxystanozolol which was taken at the Geelong meeting on February 16, 2015.

Nitrofield was disqualified from the event in question, with Strangio’s disqualification effective from midnight May 13, 2015.

Tasmania

TASSIE trainer Gerard Allford has been disqualified for a total of 42 months after two of his greyhounds returned positive swabs to prohibited substances.

A swab taken from his greyhound, Jadie Bear, at Hobart on January 22 this year was found to contain the presence of Amphetamine, Hydroxyamphetamine and Theobromine, while a second greyhound, Bearville Azza, was swabbed at the Launceston meting on February 27, 2015, with the analysis showing that Amphetamine and Hydroxyamphetamine were present in its system.

After hearing submissions and evidence, Racing Services Tasmania Stewards charged Allford with a two breaches of GAR 83(2)(a) which relates to presenting a greyhound not free of a prohibited substance.

Allford pleaded guilty to both charges.

For the first charge, he was disqualified for a period of 18 months, while he was slapped with a 24 month disqualification for the second, having already been aware of the first swab irregularity before Bearville Azza was presented to race.

South Australia

LEADING trainer Karen Bearpark, the partner of veterinarian John Katakasi, has been ordered to attend an interview with Greyhound Racing SA’s Senior Investigator on May 28 in relation into substances which were found during a kennel inspection on her property in March.

GRSA have tested all of the substances which were seized on the day with the final results having been received.

Bearpark’s greyhounds remain suspended until further notice.

SUPERSTAR sprinter Dyna Villa will be scratched from this Sunday’s Group 2 Horsham Cup final as owner Paul Wheeler removes all of his greyhounds from trainer Nicole Davis’ property after her license was suspended by Greyhound Racing Victoria Stewards on Wednesday.



Davis’ suspension comes after one of her other dogs owned by Wheeler, Graff Bale, returned a positive swab sample to the prohibited substance amphetamine at The Meadows on April 29, 2015.



While the reserve portion of the sample is yet to be tested, GRV Chairman Ray Gunston spoke out on the findings on Thursday afternoon.

“It is appalling that another preliminary swab has come back with an irregular result for amphetamine,” Gunston said.

“The rigorous swabbing and testing procedures GRV undertake have again been able to identify an irregularity which now needs to be the subject of further testing.

“We test out-of-competition, pre-race and post-race and we also freeze and store samples. Anyone wanting to gain an unfair advantage will be caught.”

Wheeler, the owner of all the greyhounds involved in the saga, spoke to Australian Racing Greyhound on Thursday night, confirming his dogs will all be moved off the property and will go to other trainers to continue their careers.



“If I wanted to keep racing my dogs they had to be shifted, so all of the greyhounds on Nicole Davis’ property will be moved to my various other trainers in Victoria,” Wheeler said.



Wheeler has made the decision to scratch all of his greyhounds nominated to race under Davis’ name, including dual Group 1 winner Dyna Villa which will now miss the Horsham Cup, a race the greyhound is second favourite for.



Dyna Villa will now head to leading Victorian mentor Andrea Dailly, who also puts the polish on Wheeler’s freakish speedster, Fernando Bale. 



“It was a mutual agreement [between Wheeler and GRV] to scratch the dogs,” Wheeler revealed.



“I didn’t think it was fair on the trainer, the punter or the dog to move kennels and then have to race on such short notice. 



“The shift in kennels can take a fair bit of getting used to so it would be unfair for the trainer to have that responsibility and unfair for the punter to take the risk.”

The news of Davis’ positive swab hits barely a month after Jenny Hunt, who was formerly training the large team of greyhounds Davis took over on the same property, received an 18 month disqualification when one of her greyhounds returned a positive sample to amphetamine and methamphetamine, commonly known as ice.

Hunt herself took over the large training operation at Lara after her father-in-law, legendary trainer Graeme Bate, was disqualified for a number of prohibited substance charges in 2014.


Wheeler believes the positive swabs were not a deliberate attempt by the trainer to enhance the performance of the greyhounds.



“I don’t think any of it has been purposely done,” he said.

“I think its a contamination issue or a situation where the kennel has been nobbled — either way there is a crack in the system at the training establishment.



“We have been looking at the whole situation very seriously, even though a lot of people think we haven’t been.

“Since Jenny [Hunt] got the first positive we had been in contact with a company to look at drug testing the employees working on the property because we thought it might have been a contamination issue.”

Wheeler, whose greyhounds have won 10 Group races and over $800,000 in prize money so far in 2015, also confirmed he would consider selling his stock to China for the right offer.



“I went to China and had a look around at their set up. The way things are going I said to them that if anyone offered me the right money that I would sell it all, including the stud dogs,” he said.



“I have had one bloke call me about it, but so far nothing has happened.”




CHAMPION stayer Sweet It Is has returned two positive swabs to the prohibited substance caffeine after winning both a heat and final of the Group 1 Duke of Edinburgh Silver Collar in New Zealand earlier this month. 



Greyhound Racing New Zealand confirmed the findings on their website on Wednesday morning, with the sample having undergone testing by the New Zealand Racing Laboratory. 



Sweet It Is, trained in Victoria by Braden Finn, became greyhound racing’s highest stake earner when she claimed her second Group 1 Sandown Cup in May. Finn then ventured across the ditch with his powerhouse stayer where she broke the track record in her heat of the Silver Collar, running 46.07. 



Sweet It Is then returned in the final from box eight with an emphatic performance over the 779-metre trip, smashing her own track record in 45.86.



The win in New Zealand’s most prestigious race took her career earnings to $819,420.

An investigation is now underway by the New Zealand Racing Integrity Unit (RIU) who have stated they will be making no further comments until its investigation is complete.



If found guilty, Finn is facing a disqualification of up to six months and/or a fine of up to $5000, while Sweet It Is will almost certainly be stripped of her Silver Collar title and track record. 



Under the Greyhounds Australasia Rules, if Finn is found guilty after the investigation and is handed down a disqualification, the sentence will also be in effect in Australia.

Sweet It Is, which has now won six Group 1 races, has also been scratched from her engagement in Thursday night’s Listed Superstayers at Albion Park, with reserve runner Cyndie’s Magic now gaining a start from box three in pursuit of the $25,900 first prize.


Australian Racing Greyhound’s attempts to contact Finn on Wednesday morning were unsuccessful. However, we will endeavour to bring you all the latest news on this ongoing matter.

IT is now possible to differentiate between naturally occurring testosterone in a male greyhound and testosterone which has been administered in order to improve performance, a study by Greyhound Racing Victoria shows.

A joint effort by the Faculty of Veterinary and Agriculture Sciences (FVAS) at the University of Melbourne (UM) and Racing Analytical Services Limited (RASL) in 2013 was done on male greyhounds with samples of registered testosterone being administered in a controlled environment, with blood, urine and hair samples taken regularly during the testing process.

Through the study, a new analytical procedure was developed which has enabled the detection of testosterone compounds in greyhound hair for several months following administration, while it will also be able confirm the administration of testosterone to any greyhound, both dogs and bitches.

“The procedure allows the unequivocal determination that greyhounds have been dosed with testosterone and will provide significant benefit to the greyhound racing industry,” said Professor Ted Whittem, Associate Dean, Clinical Programs at FVAS, University of Melbourne.

The new study is hoped to strengthen GRV’s crack down on the use of prohibited substances as the controlling body aims to take the sport’s integrity to the highest possible level.

GRV’s General Manager Integrity, Racing and Welfare Glen Canty said the results of the study were a step in the right direction for Victorian greyhound racing.

“Animal welfare and integrity of racing is at the heart of every decision we make and this study was undertaken with those important values in mind,” Canty said.

“The results of this study mean our testing procedures are world class. It gives those that compete in, and wager on, greyhound racing tremendous confidence that GRV is extremely well placed to detect the administration of testosterone.”

Testing using the revolutionary analytical procedure is expected to commence later this year.

Fernando flawless again

FERNANDO Bale captured a fifth Group 1 victory of his career on Saturday night when taking out the Maturity Classic at The Meadows.

Trained by Andrea Dailly, the son of Kelsos Fusilleer and Chloe Allen exploded from box two, setting new first and second sectional records of 4.89 and 17.37 respectively en route to his sublime 29.50 victory.

At just 28 months of age he now sits second on the all-time prize money earners list, with over $790,000 to his name.

The white and dark brindle speedster has won 25 races from just 31 starts and will target the heats of the Victorian Sprint Championship at Sandown Park on Thursday night.

He has drawn box three in the first of five heats against a classy field including Kayda Shae, Angie Rocks and his litter sister Elfen Bale.

Watch Fernando Bale’s Maturity victory from box two below:

In the Stewards room

LEADING SA trainer and breeder Karen Bearpark has been disqualified following an investigation by Greyhound Racing SA (GRSA) Stewards into a number of prohibited substances found on her property during an inspection on Thursday March 26, 2015.

Bearpark was charged with four offences, including one breach of GAR 84(2) and three of GAR 79A(7).

Despite her not guilty plea, Bearpark was fined $1,500 for breaching GAR 84 (2); while she received a total of 42 months of suspensions for her three indiscretions of GAR 79A (7).

Bearpark will serve the penalties concurrently and they will backdated to March 26, 2015, meaning she will be eligible to return to training on March 26, 2017, exactly two years after her original suspension.

The decision has caused angst amongst many participants, given Bearpark’s clean record for positive swabs and her partner, leading veterinarian Dr. John Katakasi, also resides on the property.

Tasmania

TRAINER Paul Donaldson faced the Office of Racing Intergrity last week after a urine sample taken from his greyhound, Rebelation, was found to contain the prohibited substance Oxilofrine, a stimulant, after it raced at Launceston on April 27, 2015.

Donaldson was charged with a breach of GAR 83(2)(a) which relates to failing to present a greyhound free of prohibited substances.

After pleading guilty, Tasmania Stewards disqualified Donaldson’s licence for four months, commencing immediately and expiring on November 23, 2015. 

Rebelation was also disqualified from the event in question, with the placings amended accordingly.

Run of the week

IT IS not often that a maiden greyhound claims run of the week – but then again it isn’t very often that a maiden goes within a whisker of breaking a track record. 

However, on Friday night at Bulli, Brett May’s excitement machine Hay Fergus did exactly that.

After a moderate beginning from box eight, the son of Brett Lee and Group 1 Futurity winner Daydream quickly circled the field, shooting clear to win by thirteen-and-one-quarter-lengths in a blistering 22.22 over the 400 metre trip – just two one hundredths off Barcia Bale’s track record.

The black greyhound started at $1.30 following on from two impressive performance trials – 22.14 at Bulli and 24.98 at Maitland.

Hay Fergus is just one of many talented pups from Daydream, a prolific producer, which has thrown countless city and Group performers such as Dark Assassin, Kobi Jay, Fusaichi Kahn and My Boy Snoop.

Watch his debut performance below.

THE Group 3 Chairman’s Cup series was rocked by scandal over the weekend, with champion bitch Sweet It Is withdrawn from the heats of the $25,000 to the winner feature after returning a positive swab to Benzoylecgonine, a metabolite of cocaine, after winning the Victorian Distance Championship on Saturday August 8, 2015.

Sweet It Is went on to win the Group 1 National Distance Championship Final, held at Wentworth Park last month. She is now prohibited from racing under GAR 79(A)(3)(b) until she returns a sample clear of prohibited substances, with trainer Braden Finn awaiting the analysis of the reserve and control samples, with Greyhound Racing Victoria (GRV) Stewards launching an investigation of the findings.

The news comes just months after Sweet It Is returned positive swabs to the prohibited substance caffeine after winning both the heat and final of the Group 1 Duke of Edinburgh Silver Collar in New Zealand. The New Zealand Racing Integrity Unit (RIU) are still running their own investigation into the findings.

The scratching of Sweet It Is opened the Chairman’s Cup series dramatically, with time honours going to More In Store which clocked a slick 42.03 from box five. Trained by Mark Gatt, the daughter of Kinloch Brae and Lady Arko settled just behind the pace before railing through on the home turn to shoot clear, scoring by three lengths over defending champ Zipping Maggie.

The second heat saw an upset, with Victorian talent Mepunga Tiara upstaging some of her more fancied rivals in a respectable 42.24. Trained by Jeff Britton, the 2014 Group 2 AWM Distance Championship victor used box one to perfection, strolling to the early lead and stretching out to record a five-and-one-quarter-length triumph over Queenslander Mullaway.

The final of the Chairman’s Cup will be run this Saturday night at Wentworth Park.

2015 Group 3 Chairman’s Cup – box draw

Box 1 – Zipping Maggie – Martin Hallinan
Box 2 – Smooth Number – Allen Hansen
Box 3 – Entreaty – Harry Sarkis
Box 4 – More In Store – Mark Gatt
Box 5 – Mepunga Tiara – Jeff Britton
Box 6 – Mullaway – Joanne Price
Box 7 – Mizzou Tiger – Chris Carl
Box 8 – Gangnam Style – Clint Capuano
Reserves
1st – Ada Mary – Sharon Grey
2nd – Lithgow Panther – John Chapman

Uno Suzie the one to beat in Canberra Cup

Uno Suzie continued the stellar run of form which saw her annex the Group 2 Black Top at The Gardens with a terrific win in a heat of the Group 3 Canberra Cup on Sunday night.

Jumping swiftly from box six, the daughter of Cosmic Chief and Uno Witch made the race a one act-affair, saluting two-and-three-quarter-lengths clear in 30.57. She has now won 19 races from 50 starts, including her last three in succession, for trainer Anthony Azzopardi.

Time honours from the heats went to Irish Whip for Jason Platts which rocketed along in 30.47. The black and white dog scored in what was arguably the toughest heat of the night, defeating high-class chasers My Boy Snoop and Brad Hill Billy which finished second and third respectively.

The other heat winners on the night were Tullabong Honey (30.72), San Joy (30.74), Second Line (30.75) and Cawbourne Whip (31.10). The fastest two seconds will also progress through to the final, with the box draw to be performed by GRNSW on Wednesday.

Check out Uno Suzie scoring from box six.

Healesville Cup set to be a cracker

One of the best fields to have ever raced up the straight will assemble next Sunday for the Group 2 Healesville Cup over the 350 metre trip.

Group performers La Grand Logie, Shared Bonus, Billo’s Pick, Kayda Shae and Ronray Spirit will all take their place in the $47,000-to-the-winner feature, with the latter set to pocket an additional $50,000 if victorious.

Trained by Terry Reid, Ronray Spirit is in line to collect the Country Cups Bonus, which goes to any greyhound which can win three Country Cups within a calendar year, after already taking out the Warragul and Warrnambool Cups.

The fastest time from the eight heats went the way of Señor Grumpy which clocked a slick 18.881, with Shared Bonus (18.897), Billo’s Pick (18.903), Allkel To Excel (18.997) and La Grand Logie (18.998) also breaking the elusive 19 second barrier.

2015 Group 2 Healesville Cup – box draw

Box 1 – La Grand Logie – Jeff Eaton
Box 2 – Shared Bonus – Jeff Britton
Box 3 – Senor Grumpy – Aaron Ware
Box 4 – Billo’s Pick – Kel Greenough
Box 5 – Ronray Spirit – Terry Reid
Box 6 – Pud – Jose Desaubin
Box 7 – Allkel To Excel – Kel Greenough
Box 8 – Kayda Shae – Kelly Bravo
Reserves
1st – Danyo’s Slappy – Neil Ryan
2nd – Azza Azza Azza – Wayne Vassallo

In the stewards room

Robert Groizard Jnr has appealed a decision handed down by GRNSW Stewards after he was found guilty of a breach of GAR 83(2) and disqualified for a period of 15 weeks. The specifics of the situation being that a urine sample taken from his greyhound Miss Diddle showed the presence of the prohibited substance Ketoprofen after winning at The Gardens on October 17, 2014.

Groizard Jnr did not accept the early guilty plea of 12 weeks, instead pleading not-guilty to the charge. However, he was found guilty as charged, with Miss Diddle also disqualified from the event in question.

Groizard Jnr will be able to re-apply for his licence as of December 13, 2015.

Run of the week

Aphorism booked his spot in this Thursday’s Group 1 Dapto Megastar with an all-the-way victory in last week’s Megastar Prelude. Beginning well from box one, the black dog was able to rail underneath favourite Fantastic Spiral through the first turn before putting the paw to the floor, sprinting clear to score by five-and-three-quarter lengths in a sizzling 29.56.

Whittaker produced a massive run from box eight to finish second, with Fantastic Spiral holding on to third spot.

All three chasers will join the existing five invitees – Bessy Boo, Keybow, Flash Reality, Rue De Kahn and Fantastic Dotty – in the $75,000-to-the-winner feature.

FIRST impressions of the finish-on-lure trial at Geelong are that fields are more inclined to spread out, at least after the first bun rush out of the boxes. No doubt the wide and high lure is a help in that respect.

Of course, this is a factor not easily measured by statistics but it must be considered along with any differences in injury rates and failing to chase offences. Numbers for both these improved significantly in previous trials in Adelaide and Brisbane.

At the same time, do not forget the contribution made by the shape of this or any other track. Since the art of track design has never been formally studied it is always hard to tell which feature causes what outcome. However, I have several times mentioned an obvious problem at Geelong. The latter part of the turn and the run into the straight proper has always been too flat, causing many dogs to run wide. It appears that the grader (following the GRV curator’s manual) reduces the banking angle too soon. Even the stewards’ reports constantly mention dogs running wide in the straight.

I wonder if comparisons with a velodrome in action might illustrate the point better. That would be the extreme, of course, but somewhere between that and a dead flat surface lies the ideal compromise. In greyhound races that point of the turn is where runners are altering their angle of attack as well as their speed so any abrupt change of banking would have an exaggerated effect on where they run. There is also the variable that maintaining speed on a turn is something certain dogs manage better than others. Other examples of suspect home turns are available at Maitland, Bulli, Goulburn, The Gardens and Sale.

Of course, this is just one strand of the track design question. But it does illustrate how the relevant factors are all inter-connected. We have got to cover this subject more thoroughly in a future article.

Don’t try this at home

Feeling some pain and frustration myself, I checked out the betting for the five main meetings last week. That involved 54 races over a variety of distances. Of those, 11 jumped away with an odds-on favourite. Here is how each of them fared.

Wednesday, WPK

Huckleberry $1.70 – Won

Thursday, BGC

Simpatico $1.90 – Won

Thursday, SPK

Aston Cyrus $1.90 – LOST

Dewana Result $1.90 – LOST

Dyna Yemen $1.70 – LOST

Saturday, WPK

Time for Money $1.50 – Won

Zipping Maggie $1.70 – LOST

Paua to Roar $$1.50 – Won

Saturday, MEA

Shanlyn Lucy $1.80 – LOST

Weston East $1.70 – LOST

Moreira $1.60 – LOST

That adds up to four wins from eleven races. An even dollar on each of them returned 61% of your outlay, so you lost 39% of your bank. This is not unusual. Every check I have ever done shows much the same result. In effect, gamblers are losing money before they start. Unless they are extremely selective, they have no chance of making a profit.

So why is this happening? Well, several factors contribute to tote variability.

• Investments are made before prices have settled down
• Investments are made at a reasonable price but that price declines soon after
• Some gamblers are happy with any old price – the “better than bank interest” philosophy
• Their mate or their favourite tipster tells them to get on – regardless
• Small pools are susceptible to fluctuations from medium to large bets
• Mystery bet packages favour the short priced runner

Some of these hassles would ease if betting pools were nationalised and therefore much larger, which is up to state governments to initiate. But even more benefits would accrue were investors to simply study the markets more closely – and particularly the reliability of the runner they want to back. For example, too often a runner is backed strongly on the basis of a last start win yet – statistically – only 1 in 7 dogs win two races in succession, which is hardly odds-on territory. Many more, including in the above examples, involve a move to a riskier box or are in races with volatile bend starts. Other dogs are just risky beginners and therefore demand an extra margin for that characteristic.

Overall, there has to be a suspicion that gamblers (rather than punters) have long since stopped assessing a runner’s real chances and are simply looking at how much cash they might win (as occurs on a poker machine). This has been prompted by the evolution away from old time bookmaker’s prices to the cash amount on the tote board. People may be assuming that $3.00 on the tote is nothing more than a $2.00 profit rather than realising that a price of 2/1 involves an assumption that the runner will lose twice and win once in every three attempts. There is a philosophical difference.

Whatever, better education will always pay off.

Mystery surrounding Sweet It Is

In the shock of the year Sweet It Is has been pinged for a cocaine derivative from a swab taken after a fairly average run at The Meadows on 8 August (in 42.74). Two weeks later it broke the Wentworth Park record by running 41.52 and a week later again it ran a slow 43.02 back at The Meadows. In other words, the presence of the alleged drug did not accord with its race performances

All of which followed a record-breaking win at Auckland which revealed caffeine in its system. Final results of that swab have not been published so far as we can find out. (The NZ website is not very informative).

The bitch has always had an up and down career in terms of race times, which is partly why we have always recommended punters should never take odds-on about it (see above item).

Nevertheless, two apparently positive swabs pose serious questions.

Quote of the week

From Air New Zealand CEO, Christopher Luxon, in The Australian, September 1.

“You’ve always got to have the courage to disrupt yourself rather than be disrupted.”

TWO Victorian trainers recently faced the Racing Appeals and Disciplinary Board (RADB) after being charged with breaches of the prohibited substance rule GAR 83 (2)(3).

Both trainers had greyhounds which returned positive urine samples to the drug Dehydronorketamine, a pain relief drug which is a metabolite of Ketamine.

The first trainer to face the board was Chris Darmanin, whose greyhound Aeroplane Tommy had shown the presence of the substance when competing at Ballarat on December 7, 2015.

Darmanin pleaded guilty to the charge and gave evidence that the source of the substance was most likely from the meat fed to the greyhound, which had been obtained from a pet food supplier.

Darmanin said he would be feeding his greyhounds human grade meat from now on.

Upon considering a penalty, the board was mindful of the evidence tendered at the hearing and that Darmanin had two prior positive swabs to the substance Procaine in 2009 and 2014 respectively.

The RADB subsequently handed down a six month disqualification, to commence on June 7, 2016.

The second trainer was Andrea Chapple, whose greyhound, Zoltina’s Legacy, returned a urine sample which showed the presence of Dehydronorketamine when competing at Ballarat on December 4, 2015.

Chapple also pleaded guilty and gave evidence that the substance was likely the result of being fed knackery meat from a pet food supplier.

Stewards considered Chapple’s guilty plea, her co-operation with the stewards and her lack of prior transgressions under the GAR and good character.

She was subsequently disqualified for three months, two months of which was suspended for 12 months, provided there are no further breaches of the rules in that period, with the disqualification commencing on June 7, 2016.

Aeroplane Tommy and Zoltina’s Legacy were also disqualified from their respective races.

Lord fined and disqualified

Former leading trainer Jodie Lord was the subject of a recent Greyhound Racing NSW (GRNSW) Stewards inquiry after two of her greyhounds returned urine samples which tested positive to prohibited substances.

Lord was slapped with two breaches of GAR 83(2).

The first charge was after the greyhound Magic Earner showed the presence of the prohibited substance oxazepam, a category five substance, with Lord entering an early guilty plea.

For this breach, Lord was disqualified for a period of 18 weeks.

The second charge was in relation to the greyhound Omega Deacon which returned a positive urine sample to the substance methylprednisolone.

Lord entered an early guilty plea and made the submission that the greyhound had been treated by a vet who had advised her not to race the greyhound for 21 days which was supported by treatment records and a signed letter by her vet.

Upon considering all of the evidence provided, Stewards imposed a $1,250 fine.

Both greyhounds were also scratched from their respective races.

Flanagan fined

Daniel Flanagan has been issued a fine by GRNSW Stewards after being found guilty of two breaches of GAR 83(2).

The details of the charges were that Flanagan’s greyhounds, Explosive Madam and Explosive Range, returned urine samples showing the presence of the prohibited substance atenolol at Wentworth Park (December 9) and Gosford (February 2) respectively.

Flanagan entered early guilty pleas to both charges, giving evidence that the positive sample was likely to have resulted from prescription medication, which was reduced to a powdered form for personal use by a family member, which had been inadvertently transferred to the greyhound’s food source.

Stewards accepted this evidence and considered it when deciding an appropriate penalty which was determined to be a $750 fine for each charge.

The greyhounds were also disqualified from their respective races.

Olling guilty

Mary Olling recently faced a GRNSW Stewards inquiry after being charged with a breach of GAR 83(2).

The specifics of the charge were that Olling presented her greyhound Simply Wrecked at Richmond on November 18, 2015, when it was not free of a prohibited substance, with a urine sample detecting the presence of caffeine and its metabolites in the dog’s system.

Oiling entered an early guilty plea via letter, giving evidence that the greyhound had consumed chocolate in the days leading up to the race.

Upon considering the penalty, Stewards were mindful of her early guilty plea and that she had held her license since 1975 with no prior offences.

Subsequently, Olling was slapped with a 20 week disqualification, commencing on April 18, 2016.

NEW South Wales trainer Gavin Lowe has been slapped with a disqualification after being found guilty of breaching GAR 83(2) which relates to prohibited substances.

The specifics of the charge were that Lowe’s greyhound, Pure White Cloud, returned a urine sample containing the presence of the prohibited substances dehydronorketamine and oxazepam when it competed at Grafton on July 28, 2014.

Lowe entered a guilty plea by letter when the inquiry resumed on May 12, 2016.

When considering a penalty, Greyhound Racing NSW (GRNSW) Stewards took into account several factors including:

– The substances being category five prohibited substances
– Lowe had two prior prohibited substance breaches which were dealt with by way of a fine
– Lowe’s early guilty plea (25% discount)
– The fact that Lowe has had 61 greyhounds swabbed since 2003
– Lowe’s personal circumstances which were outlined in his submission

Stewards determined to impose a penalty of 20 weeks disqualification, while Pure White Cloud was also disqualified from the event in question.

GRNSW withdraw charges against Jodie Lord

GRNSW has notified Jodie Lord that it has withdrawn two inquiries into the presence of Recombinant Human Erythropoietin (EPO) which was detected in the initial analysis of urine samples taken from her greyhounds Scarp Missile and Breaking Bad.

The decision to withdraw the inquires comes after GRNSW received notification that the confirmatory analysis of the samples did not detect the presence of EPO.

Dowdell disqualified for prohibited substance breach

Ivor Dowdell recently faced a Greyhound Racing SA (GRSA) inquiry after his greyhound, He Gone, returned a urine sample which contained the presence of Cobalt when it competed at Mount Gambier on October 25, 2015.

Dowdell was charged with a breach of GAR 83(2), with the greyhound’s sample showing the presence of Cobalt in its urine at a mass concentration of 129ng/Ml, exceeding the 100ng/mL threshold.

Dowdell pleaded guilty as charged, with Stewards imposing a penalty of 12 months disqualification.

The disqualification period commenced on June 9, 2016, while He Gone was also disqualified from winning race three at Mount Gambier on Sunday October 25, 2015, with the placings amended accordingly.

Dowdell was advised of his rights of appeal.

A SOUTH Australian greyhound trainer has appealed his decade-long disqualification and $10,000 fine after being found guilty of a breach of the permanently banned substance rule.

The specifics of the case were that, on January 5, Greyhound Racing SA (GRSA) Stewards took an out of competition swab from the greyhound Are Ate at the property of its trainer, Michele Familglietti.

The analysis of the swab showed that the greyhound had the permanently banned substance Amphetamine in its system, which put Familglietti in breach of GAR 79(A)(4)(i).

Familglietti pleaded not guilty and submitted that the integrity of the swab had been affected.

Scenarios given by Familglietti included the possibility of the use of a worming product, contamination of the sample by sand, the fact that gloves were not used by the testers in the first part of the procedure and that also the water used in relation to the cleaning of the ladle used to obtain the sample was contaminated.

Upon considering the evidence relating to the above scenarios, Stewards ultimately found Familglietti guilty as charged and slapped him with a 10-year disqualification in addition to a $10,000 fine.

Upon deciding on the penalty, Stewards were mindful that Familglietti had been found guilty of presenting a dog for racing when not free of a prohibited substance on four previous occasions.

All up, Familglietti had previously served two and a half years of disqualification which expired on November 28, 2015.

However, upon considering all aspects of the case, the Racing Appeals Tribunal considered the 10-year penalty in addition to the $10,000 fine to be excessive.

The Tribunal ruled to reduce the penalty of disqualification to seven years, effective from August 1, 2016, while it was ordered that the monetary penalty remain at $10k.

Hagicostas fined for positive swab

Stewards from the Queensland Racing Integrity Commission (QRIC) recently conducted an inquiry into the analyst’s findings of desvenlafaxine in the urine sample taken from the greyhound Back On Track after it competed at Ipswich on May 3, 2016.

Evidence was taken from the greyhound’s trainer, George Hagicostas, who pleaded guilty to a breach of GAR 83 (2)(a).

In determining a penalty, Stewards considered Hagicostas’ unblemished record from almost 40 years within the industry.

He was subsequently handed down a fine of $3,000, half of which was suspended providing no further breaches of any drug related rules within the next 12 months.

Back On Track was also disqualified from the event in question.

Trainer faces seven swab-related charges

QRIC Stewards recently concluded an inquiry into the urine samples taken from registered greyhounds of Mark Lutter.

Lutter was charged with seven breaches of the prohibited substances rule GAR 83 (2)(a), with the specifics of each breach as follows:

• The presence of cobalt at a mass concentration above the threshold level in the urine sample taken from Bogart Blend in Race 4 at Rockhampton on March 23 2016;
• The presence of cobalt at a mass concentration above the threshold level and Boldenone in the urine sample taken from Summah’s Knight in Race 3 at Rockhampton on March 30 2016;
• The presence of cobalt at a mass concentration above the threshold taken from Stars Align in Race 6 at Rockhampton on April 6 2016;
• The presence of cobalt at a mass concentration above the threshold and testosterone as evidenced by the presence of 5β-androstane-3α, 17β-diol above the threshold level taken from Kewin Up in a pre-race sample prior to competing in Race 9 at Rockhampton on April 6 2016;
• The presence of cobalt at a mass concentration above the threshold taken from Bogart Blend in Race 5 at Rockhampton on April 13 2016;

Lutter pleaded guilty to all of the charges pertaining to cobalt and not guilty to the charges in relation to boldenone and testosterone. However, after consideration, Stewards found him guilty on all charges.

Stewards issued the following penalties after considering all of the evidence from the case:

Charge 1 – two years disqualification
Charge 2 – two years disqualification
Charge 3 – nine months disqualification
Charge 4 – two years disqualification
Charge 5 – two years disqualification
Charge 6 – three months disqualification
Charge 7 – two years disqualification

Stewards ordered that charges 1,2,4,5 and 7 be served concurrently with the penalties for charges 3 and 6 to be cumulative to the other period of disqualification.

All up, Lutter will be disqualified for three years from August 2, 2016 through to and including August 2, 2019.

All greyhounds were disqualified from their respective events.

Tony Brett receives hefty fine

Tony Brett has been handed a $10,000 fine after being found guilty of a breach of the prohibited substance rule.

The breach was in relation to a sample taken from Brett’s greyhound Gallari at Ipswich on April 15, 2016, which was tested and found to contain the prohibited substance Pentobarbitone.

Despite pleading not guilty, Brett was found guilty as charged by QRIC Stewards.

Acting under GAR 83 (4) Gallari was also disqualified from the race at Ipswich, with placings amended accordingly.

Procaine positives for Weeding and Harker

Gary Weeding has been found guilty of a breach of GAR 83 (2)(a) after his greyhound Izzyotic returned a positive sample to procaine after competing at Rockhampton on March 23, 2016.

Weeding was fined $2,500, while the greyhound was also disqualified from the aforementioned race.

Also being found guilty of a breach of GAR 83 (2)(a) was Albert Harker after his greyhound Zane Harks returned a sample positive to procaine, also at the Rockhampton meeting on March 23.

Harker was fined $1,000, with Zane Harks also disqualified from its race.

SA trainers fined for verbal confrontation

GRSA recently concluded an inquiry into the conduct of registered trainers Scott Feltus and Tony Rassmussen at Angle Park on July 28, 2016.

Both men were charged with a breach of GAR 86 (o) which relates to conduct.

Feltus and Rassmussen both pleaded guilty as charged.

Feltus was fined $800, with $400 suspended for 24 months with the condition that he does not re-offend under the rule.

Rassmussen was fined $400, with $200 suspended for 24 months with the condition that he does not re-offend under the rule.

Bouchier fined for abusing GRSA Officer

Trainer Bernard Bouchier Jnr has been found guilty of a breach of GAR 86 (f) for verbally abusing a GRSA Animal Welfare Officer during a phone call on July 22, 2016.

Bouchier was fined $600, $150 of which was suspended for 24 months pending no further breaches of that rule during the two year period.

Dennis Calleja disqualified

Racing and Wagering WA (RWWA) Stewards have opened an inquiry into a report received from Stipendiary Steward Graham O’Dea.

O’Dea, in conjunction with RWWA Chief Investigator Geoff Johnson and RWWA Compliance Officer Freya Norman, conducted an un-announced kennel inspection at the property of Dennis Calleja on July 7, 2016.

The intitial inspection was followed by a further inspection and recorded interview on July 21, 2016.

Calleja was served with a formal notice of inquiry on Friday July 22, 2016, directing him to attend an inquiry on July 28.

Calleja failed to attend the inquiry, with RWWA Stewards determining to disqualify his licence until such time as he attends the inquiry.

Fazzino disqualified by GRNSW

Charles Fazzino recently faced Greyhound Racing NSW (GRNSW) Stewards charged with a breach of GAR 83 (2).

The specifics of the case were that Fazzino’s greyhound, Bugatti Dart, returned a urine sample which showed the presence of the prohibited substance Caffeine (and its metabolites) when competing at The Gardens on February 6, 2016.

Fazzino entered a guilty plea to the charge and was given a 25 per cent discount on penalty by stewards. Upon considering all of the evidence, including the low level of the prohibited substance in the sample, Fazzino was issued with an 18-week disqualification.

Acting under GAR 83 (4), GRNSW also disqualified Bugatti Dart from the race in question.

Wauchope greyhound track fined by GRNSW

The Hastings River Greyhound Racing Club (Wauchope) has been fined by GRNSW following an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the greyhound Roman Zesta competing in race nine on June 11, 2016.

Stewards heard throughout the course of the inquiry that the greyhound was presented 1.7 kilograms heavier than its previous weight which was within a 28 day period – meaning that in order to race the greyhound had to be within 1 kilogram of its previous weight.

Stewards received evidence from several people including Barry Harmey, Roman Zesta’s trainer who was also acting as the Weighing Official and Kennel Supervisor on the day.

Harmey was found to be in breach of GAR 104(1), while the Hastings River GRC was also charged with a breach of GAR 104(3)(b) with Rex Nairn, the President, pleading guilty to the charge.

Stewards determined to disqualify Roman Zesta from his second place in the race, while the Club was fined $1,000.

John Horan pleads guilty to positive swab offence

GRNSW recently handed down a verdict to trainer John Horan, who was charged with a breach of 83 (2) after his greyhound Nipper Zarr returned a positive urine sample to Synephrine when competing at Dubbo on November 5, 2015.

Horan pleaded guilty to the charge and provided submissions for consideration by Stewards.

Stewards concluded that the presence of the prohibited substance was likely to have arisen from the greyhound ingesting parts of the citrus trees present on Horan’s property.

Subsequently, stewards did not penalise Horan and discharged him under GAR 98 pending no further breaches of the greyhound racing rules within the next 12 months.

Majella Ferguson case finalised

Almost three years after the race in question, Majella Ferguson has been disqualified by GRNSW Stewards after her greyhound, Electro Storm, returned a positive urine sample to boldenone and its metabolites androsta-1, 4-diene-3, 17-dione at Wentworth Park on September 28, 2013.

Ferguson pleaded guilty to a breach of GAR 83(2) in that she did not present the greyhound in a state free of any prohibited substance.

After hearing submissions and considering all information, Stewards handed down a three-month disqualification.

Electro Storm was also disqualified from the aforementioned event.

Dragon Blood inquiry withdrawn

GRNSW have withdrawn an inquiry into the analyst’s findings of Pentobarbitone in the B Sample taken from the greyhound Dragon Blood at Taree on January 23, 2016.

The withdrawal follows notification that the sample taken from the greyhound was likely to have been unintentionally contaminated.

Charles Mizzi receives penalty for positive swab

The Victorian Racing Appeals and Disciplinary Board (RADB) recently finalised an inquiry surrounding a urine sample taked from the greyhounds Carmyle and Bluehawk Burst which were found to contain the substance Cobalt at a mass concentration greater than the 100 nanograms per millilitre threshold.

Mizzi was slapped with four charges – two of GAR 83 (1A) in that he administered or caused to be administered a prohibited substance – and two charges of GAR 83 (2) in that he presented the greyhounds to race not free of a prohibited substance.

Mizzi pleaded guilty to all charges.

At the inquiry evidence was tendered that both greyhounds had been administered with an injection of Vitamin B12 prior to the races which is the likely cause of both positive swabs.

For each swab Mizzi was given a 15 month disqualification, nine months of which was suspended providing no further breaches of GAR 83 within the next 12 months.

Both disqualification periods will be served concurrently and commenced on August 10, 2016.

Bluehawk Burst and Carmyle were both disqualified from their respective races.

Darren Pattinson positive swab results in fine

Leading Victorian trainer Darren Pattinson faced the RADB after his greyhound, Marungi Choice, returned a positive urine sample to the prohibited substance Procaine when competing at Bendigo on February 26, 2016.

Pattinson was charged with a breach of GAR 83(2) to which he pleaded guilty.

At the inquiry, it was established that the likely cause for the positive swab was that the greyhound had been fed knackery meat prior to the race.

Pattinson was subsequently fined $1,000, with $500 of that fine suspended for 12 months pending no further breaches of GAR 83 within that time.

Jeffrey disqualified by RADB

Ballarat trainer Anthony Jeffrey has been disqualified by the RADB after being found guilty of a breach of GAR 83 (2)(3).

The specifics of the case were that Jeffrey’s greyhound, Stolen Gem, returned a positive urine sample to the prohibited substance Sotalol when it competed at Bendigo on February 12.

At a telephone inquiry, Jeffrey pleaded not guilty to the charge and gave evidence that the swab could have been from cross-contamination from medication prescribed to him which contains the substance in question.

Jeffrey was subsequently given a six-month disqualification, while Stolen Gem was also disqualified from the event n question.

Panetta faces hearing for positive swab

Last week the RADB handed down a verdict as a result of an inquiry into a positive urine sample detected from the greyhound Max Rocket at Ballarat on March 9, 2016.

Evidence was taken from the greyhound’s trainer Anne Panetta who pleaded guilty to a breach of the prohibited substances rule after the urine sample was found to contain the substance frusemide – a diuretic.

Based on all evidence, the RADB imposed a fine of $1000, $500 of which was suspended for 12 months pending no further breaches of GAR 83 within that time.

Max Rocket was also disqualified from the event in question.

GARY Shipley was recently the subject of a Greyhound Racing NSW (GRNSW) stewards’ inquiry after being slapped with two breaches of the prohibited substance rule, GAR 83(2).

The specifics of the case were Shipley’s greyhound, Sekonda Belle, returned positive urine samples to the prohibited substance theobromine when competing at Nowra on March 14 and June 20, 2016.

Shipley entered an early guilty plea to both charges, with stewards determining there were no aggravating factors present.

Upon considering the evidence, including that Shipley had been registered since 1993 with no previous positive swabs, stewards determined to impose a penalty of 14 weeks’ disqualification for each charge, to be served concurrently.

Additionally, the greyhound was also disqualified from both events.

Two Queensland trainers disqualified

AN inquiry was recently held by the Queensland Racing Integrity Commission (QRIC) into the conduct of licensed trainer Wayne McDonald and owner Keith McDonald on the property of disqualified trainer Tom Noble.

It was alleged during the hearing that both men had associated with Noble for the purpose of engaging in training related activities at his property, in Churchable on February 28, 2016, and March 6, 2016.

After considering the evidence, including information provided by the Queensland Police Service, the men were both charged with a breach of GAR 86(ah) which relates to being guilty of an offence if associating with a disqualified person for the purposes of training greyhounds.

Wayne McDonald pleaded guilty, while Keith McDonald entered a not guilty plea.

Both were found guilty as charged and handed down a disqualification period of two years, effective immediately.

The QRIC has also opened two separate inquiries into the attendance of another two trainers at Noble’s property.

An inquiry into Anthony Hess has been adjourned after he provided evidence which contradicts CCTV footage related to his involvement in activities at Noble’s property on February 22, 2015.

In the meantime, stewards have applied GAR 90(5), meaning no greyhound owned or trained by Anthony Hess is allowed to race until the matter is finalised.

Additionally, stewards have also given Daniel Henry the benefit of the doubt as to whether he attended the property for the purposes of greyhound racing.

Tom Noble was disqualified for his part in the infamous live baiting scandal, with vision from his property showing the use of live animals attached to a lure being used to entice greyhounds to chase.

Clarson fined

Licenced trainer Dean Clarson has also faced the QRIC recently concerning his alleged misconduct at Albion Park on Sunday November 6, 2016.

Clarson was charged with a breach of GAR 86 (g) after it was alleged he verbally abused and texted Stipendiary Steward Andrew Spence whilst he was on duty.

Clarson pleaded guilty to the charge.

After considering the evidence, including his good record in regards to conduct, he was fined $2000, with $1000 suspended for 12 months under GAR 95(3).

NEW South Wales trainer John Bradley has been found guilty of having a dog with elevated levels of cobalt, stemming from a race meeting earlier this year.

Bradley was facing the music under the prohibited substance rule, GAR 83(2), for his greyhound Silky Oak, returning a positive urine sample when competing in race three at Tweed Heads on August 13, 2016.

Bradley, who came under fire earlier this year for not housing She Can Do on his property, entered an early guilty plea to the charge.

Being a category four prohibited substance, the starting point for penalties under Greyhound Racing NSW’s Penalty System is 24-weeks disqualification, however Stewards also took into consideration Bradley’s personal circumstances, including 16 years as a licensed trainer with no prior positive swabs.

With regards to all of the factors presented in the case, GRNSW Steward Grant Carroll decided to impose a 15-week suspension, while Silky Oak was also disqualified from the event in question.

Rex Jones disqualified

Rex Jones recently faced a GRNSW stewards inquiry after his greyhound, Cosmic Topper, returned a positive urine sample to the category two prohibited substance ostarine when competing at Gosford on May 24, 2016.

Jones was charged with a breach of GAR 83(2) for presenting the greyhound when it was not free of a prohibited substance, entering an early guilty plea on November 7, 2016.

Upon considering the circumstances of the case as well as well as prior penalties from other cases, stewards imposed a disqualification of 60-weeks.

The greyhound was also disqualified from the event in question under GAR 83(4).

Walsh suspended and fined

A GRNSW inquiry into trainer Noelene Walsh was concluded last week, with Walsh under investigation over a breach of the prohibited substance rule.

The charge related to Walsh’s greyhound, Thunda Struck, which returned a positive swab to the prohibited substance cobalt when competing at Dubbo on January 8, 2016.

Walsh entered an early guilty plea to the charge which was taken into consideration by stewards, as well as other circumstances including Walsh’s previous record with no positive swabs.

Stewards subsequently decided to hand-down an eight-week suspension and a $500 fine, whilst Thunda Struck was also disqualified from the event in question.

Helen Gates disqualified

Victorian trainer Helen Gates recently faced a Racing Appeals and Disciplinary Board (RADB) inquiry after she was charged with four rule breaches relating to GAR 83 (1A) and GAR 83 (2)(3).

The charges were as follows:

1. Gates administered or caused to be administered a prohibited substance to Take The Chance at the Traralgon meeting on March 21, 2016.
2. Gates failed to present the greyhound Take The Chance free of any prohibited substance when it competed at the Traralgon meeting on March 21, 2016.
3. Gates administered or caused to be administered a prohibited substance to Chicks Buzzard at the Traralgon meeting on June 6, 2016
4. Gates failed to present the greyhound Chicks Buzzard free of any prohibited substance when it competed at the Traralgon meeting on June 6, 2016.

The prohibited substance in question was cobalt.

Gates pleaded guilty to the charges. Stewards imposed a 12-month disqualification, of which nine months has been suspended pending no further breaches of GAR 83 in the next 12 months, for the charges relating to Take The Chance.

Gates was also slapped with the same penalty for the Chicks Buzzard charges.

All up, the combined penalty is 24-months disqualification, however 18-months has been suspended, leaving Gates with a disqualification period of six months.

Both greyhounds were also disqualified from their respective events.

Daryl Williams fronts RABD over cobalt charge

Daryl Williams was recently the subject of a RADB stewards inquiry after being slapped with two rule breaches, GAR 83 (1A) and GAR 83 (2)(3).

The charges related to the greyhound Aggi Den which returned a positive urine sample to cobalt greater than the allowed threshold when competing at Geelong on Tuesday April 26, 2016.

Williams pleaded guilty to both charges, conceding that he had given the greyhound a teaspoon of Rapid Ferro iron on a day close to the event.

After considering the circumstances of the case, stewards imposed a 12-month disqualification, of which 10 months was suspended pending no further rule breaches of GAR 83 within the following 12 months.

Aggi Ben was also disqualified from the event in question, with Williams’ penalty to commence on December 9, 2016.

Donald Turner disqualified

South Australian trainer Donald Turner recently fronted a Greyhound Racing SA (GRSA) Stewards inquiry after his greyhound, Bull Titan, returned a positive urine sample to cobalt when competing at Gawler on July 31, 2016.

Turner was charged with a breach of GAR 83(2) to which he plead guilty. Stewards slapped him with a six-month ban, which commenced at midnight on December 4, 2016.

Bull Titan was also disqualified from the event in question.

Todd Kelly gets a positive swab

Prominent SA trainer Todd Kelly has been notified by GRSA that his greyhound It’s No Myth has returned a positive urine sample to Amphetamine after it raced at Gawler on October 6, 2016.

This was confirmed when the reserve portion of the sample was tested, with Kelly now required to face a GRSA inquiry into the matter.

WA trainer disqualified for unnecessary euthanasia

Racing and Wagering Western Australia (RWWA) stewards concluded an inquiry last week into the circumstances surrounding the retirement and euthanasia of the greyhounds Jodal, Groovy Bullet and Gox Rocks.

Trainer Phillip Worthington was charged with three breaches of GAR 86(o) relating to misconduct. The first two charges were in relation to the greyhound Jodal and Gox Rocks, with Worthington failing to present the greyhounds to the Greyhound Adoption Program (GAP) for assessment, as requested in a letter on July 4, 2016.

The third charge related to the greyhound Groovy Bullet, with Worthington failing to make a reasonable effort to ensure the greyhound was re-homed when deciding to have it euthanized at the vets on August 24, 2016.

On a letter dated November 29, 2016, Worthington was advised that the stewards had decided upon a three-year disqualification for each offence, to be served concurrently.

As Worthington’s licences had been suspended since the inquiry was opened on November 21, stewards determined to back date the disqualification to that date.

Worthington will be eligible to apply for his licence again on November 21, 2019.

RONALD Steele recently faced a Greyhound Racing NSW stewards inquiry after being charged with six breaches of the prohibited substance rule, GAR 83(2).

The charges were laid as a result of the following positive swabs:

1. Suzi Cargo at Bathurst on June 8, 2015
2. Betsie Cargo at Bathurst on June 22, 2015
3. Uniting Cargo at Bathurst on July 6, 2015
4. Uniting Cargo at Wentworth Park on July 15, 2015
5. Musical Cargo at Bathurst on August 3, 2015
6. Musical Cargo at Bathurst on August 24, 2015

The prohibited substance detected in all of the charges was caffeine and its metabolites, a category-four prohibited substance under the GRNSW Penalty system.

Steele pleaded guilty as charged and, after considering the circumstances, stewards imposed a four-month disqualification for each charge. Charges one to five are to be served concurrently, as will two months of charge six.

Altogether, Steele has been disqualified for six months, which commenced on November 29.

Robertson fined for positive

David Robertson has been slapped with a fine after being found guilty of GAR 83(2). Robertson was charged after his greyhound Tee Jay Sunrise returned a urine sample which tested positive to the prohibited substance phenobarbital, a category-five prohibited substance.

Robertson entered an early guilty plea, with stewards determining a $1,000 fine to be sufficient.

Another cobalt positive in NSW

Matthew Bozovitch was the subject of a GRNSW stewards inquiry earlier this month after his greyhound, Sofia The First, returned a urine sample at Wentworth Park on April 2 which showed the presence of cobalt at a concentration higher than the allowed threshold.

Bozovitch pleaded not guilty by letter on September 12, 2016, which was later changed to guilty.

After considering the evidence and several factors relating to the case, stewards handed down a 14-week suspension, while Sofia The First was also disqualified from the event in question.

Borg fined

Trainer Emmanuel Borg has been slapped with a $750 fine after being found guilty of a breach of the prohibited substance rule.

The charge related to a dexamethasone positive, which was obtained from the greyhound Martial after it races at The Gardens on June 18, 2016.

Four Queensland participants fined for misconduct

Four participants have been fined for misconduct following two separate incidents which are alleged to have occurred at the Townsville greyhound track.

The first of those was alleged to have occurred at a trials session on November 17 between trainer Robert Thomson and owner Dwaine St.Clair.

Both men were charged with a breach of GAR 86(o) and were found guilty. Both were issued a $500 fine, with $250 suspended for six months under GAR 95 (3).

The second incident was alleged to have occurred at the trial session on November 24 between trainer John Barrow and owner/attendant Stephen Essery. Both were found guilty of breaching GAR 86(o) and were fined $500, $250 of which was suspended for six months under GAR 95 (3).

Whyte guilty of banned substance rule breaches

Respected Victorian trainer Stephen Whyte has been found guilty of two rule breaches under GAR 83(2)(3).

The first charge related to a positive urine sample taken from More For You at Healesville on April 24, 2016, while the second concerned the greyhound You Say So, which returned a positive sample at Warragul on May 10, 2016.

The prohibited substance in both cases was salbutamol and Whyte entering a guilty plea at a Racing Appeals and Disciplinary Board (RADB) inquiry into the matter.

Upon considering the evidence, Whyte was disqualified for two months for each charge, with each period wholly suspended pending no further breaches of GAR 83. Additionally, he was also fined $2,500 for each breach, with one lot of $2,500 suspended for 12 months pending no further breaches of the prohibited substance rule.

Amy O’Keefe receives suspended fine

Promising young trainer Amy O’Keefe recently fronted a RADB inquiry after being charged with a breach of GAR 83(1A) and GAR 83(2)(3). The charges related to the greyhound In The Trolley which returned a positive swab to the substance hyoscine when competing at Sale on June 5, 2016.

O’Keefe pleaded guilty to the charges and was slapped with a $750 fine, wholly suspended for 12 months pending no further rule breaches relating to prohibited substances during that time.

Mario Briganti disqualified

Conditioner Mario Briganti has been found guilty of a breach of the prohibited substance rule after his greyhound Emrys returned a positive sample to Dehydronorketamine when competing at Cranbourne on May 25, 2016.

Briganti pleaded guilty to a breach of GAR 83(2)(3) and stewards determined the appropriate penalty was a nine-month disqualification, with seven months suspended for 12 months pending no further rule breaches during that time. Emrys was disqualified from the event in question, with Briganti’s penalty set to commence on December 16.

Webb charged with prohibited substance rule breach

Gary Webb has also faced a RADB inquiry recently after his greyhound Flash Henry returned a post-race urine sample which showed the presence of the prohibited substance procaine.

Webb pleaded guilty and was slapped with a $1,500 fine, whilst Flash Henry was disqualified from his race at Shepparton on August 4, 2016.

Tina Womann disqualified

Respected trainer Tina Womann was the subject of a RADB inquiry this month after her greyhound Brazen Blue returned a urine sample which showed the presence of Dehydronorketamine when competing at Bendigo on June 24, 2016.

Womann pleaded guilty to a breach of GAR 83(2)(3) and was issued a six month disqualification, with four months suspended for a year pending no breaches of GAR 83 during that time. She was also fined $2,000, while Brazen Blue was disqualified from the event in question.

The RADB altered the disqualification to allow Womann to continue to reside at her residential address and to associate with Dennis Trewin and Cain Dyett provided the association is not in connection with greyhound racing.

DAVID Battie, head of Racing Analytical Services Ltd (RASL), has confirmed that all swabs taken from greyhounds examined by his laboratory are tested for Recombinant Human Erythropoietin (EPO).

Battie’s comments follow allegations from registered Victorian trainer Charlie Wilson, who admitted to doping one of his greyhounds with EPO on two occasions, with a pre-race swab obtained from the greyhound the second time returning a negative result.

Wilson claims he administered the drug in order to prove corruption within the greyhound racing industry and to identify that Greyhound Racing Victoria (GRV) are not testing for the permanently banned substance.

However, Battie told Australian Racing Greyhound this is incorrect.

“I can categorically tell you that every single sample that comes through this lab gets tested for EPO,” Battie said.

“In fact, I’d say with confidence we’ve done more research in this lab on EPO than any other lab in the world.”

Wilson claims he purchased the EPO online from overseas countries, including China, before injecting the dog Big Show Mullo two days out from a race on August 11 with 0.2mL intravenously.

Big Show Mullo ran second in that event at $21, before returning the following week where he ran seventh. A pre-race swab was taken from the greyhound on this occasion, with Wilson claiming he tripled the dosage given to the dog.

While Battie said he had not been made aware of the Wilson case or any of its surrounding controversy, he did say that any product coming from China or ‘unscrupulous sources’ should be met with great scepticism.

“We have done a lot of work with Australian customs and seen a lot of that in recent times (substances coming through China),” he said.

“We are testing substances all the time for customs and noticing a lot that are named or believed to be EPO end up not being those substances at all.”

Battie said that another reason why EPO could evade detection in some cases is the time between being administered to the animal or human in question and the testing. For obvious reasons, he could not elaborate on the time period needed to find positive swabs.

On the subject of the price of EPO testing, Battie did confirm that EPO proved to be more expensive to test for, but that it didn’t stop the RASL searching for it.

“There’s no question it’s more expensive to test for EPO, but we’re able to make efficiencies in our testing to allow for that – like I’ve said, no vial comes through here without being tested for it.”

Greyhound Racing NSW head veterinarian John Newell also weighed in on the topic, explaining that the presence of EPO in a swab would depend on the drug’s half-life and the withdrawal period prior to the race.

“I am not aware of its half-life and how long it takes to degrade in the system. The detectability of the drug would depend on whether it has worn off at that time,” Newell said.

Newell’s comments also aligned with those of Battie, explaining that overseas substances labelled as EPO could potentially result in a negative swab due to their poor quality.

“It is available online and a lot of the so-called EPOs from India, Pakistan are certainly not the quality or potency of the registered pharmaceutical product manufactured by recognised companies in Australia.

“They wouldn’t be as efficient or potent initially and as such they would degrade more rapidly [therefore affecting how they work and swab].”

Newell also said that incorrect use of the drug can have damaging results for the greyhound itself and can have a reverse effect on the track.

“It is not a drug which would give an immediate hit because it changes the blood parameters of the greyhound,” he said.

“EPO stimulates the bone marrow to produce extra red [blood] cells and haemoglobin, thereby increasing the oxygen carrying capacity – meaning more oxygen gets to the muscles during exercise.

“Inadvertent use does cause problems because it increases the packed cell volume and it can actually make dogs go slower.

“If the blood becomes too thick it can’t pump around the dog’s system.

“Just to use it and hope it is going to work could cause the dog to have a heart attack.”

HELEN Pullman, Tom Pullman and Kayla Spliet have had their licenses suspended pending the completion of a stewards’ inquiry into evidence collected during a Keinbah trial track investigation.

When Greyhound Racing NSW (GRNSW) sought submissions from the trio as to why their licenses should not be suspended, Tom Pullman failed to respond, while Helen Pullman and Kayla Spliet notified GRNSW that they wished to relinquish their licences.

The inquiry was commenced in November to investigate the evidence obtained during the Keinbah trial track investigation by Clive Stern SC.

The inquiry is being chaired by Ray Murrihy and will seek to determine whether any person identified in the evidence obtained during the Keinbah trial track investigation has breached the GRNSW rules of racing.

Two trainers guilty of arsenic charges

Two NSW trainers have faced GRNSW stewards in recent weeks after being found guilty of a breach of the prohibited substance rule, GAR 83(2). In both instances, the greyhounds returned positive samples to arsenic.

The first trainer, Kevin Barton, was suspended for 10 weeks after his dog, Magpie Tess, returned a sample showing the presence of arsenic at Potts Park on September 3, 2016.

The other trainer, Steve Vas, was handed down a $750 fine after pleading guilty when his greyhound Jeteye Express returned a positive sample after competing at September 11, 2016.

Azzopardi cops a lengthy disqualification for amphetamine swab

Prominent NSW trainer Mark Azzopardi has been banned for nine years and three months after his greyhound Carjack Arrest returned a positive swab to amphetamine when competing at Richmond on August 5, 2016.

Azzopardi failed to respond to a charge under the prohibited substance rule, GAR 83(2). Stewards took into consideration two previous offences relating to positive swabs, the first to benzoylecognine in 2013 and the second to amphetamine in 2016.

Trainer fronts inquiry over kennel conditions

A Victorian trainer, Bradley Mitchem, recently faced a Racing Appeals and Disciplinary Board (RADB) inquiry after being slapped with three rule breaches.

The first breach was in relation to LRR 42.1 after a Greyhound Racing Victoria (GRV) kennel inspection on March 23, 2016, found that a number of greyhounds were being kept in conditions detrimental to their health.

The second charge, GAR 106 (1)(a) related to a number of his greyhounds not being provided with proper and sufficient drink, whilst the third charge, GAR 106 (2)(c) related to a number of his greyhounds being kept in kennels which were not of an approved size or sanitary condition.

Mitchem pleaded not guilty to the charges. Evidence during the hearing indicated that some of his kennels had dirt floors, drinking water described as ‘rancid’ and a lack of kennel bedding and kennel construction which was deemed detrimental to the health of the greyhounds.

GRV had previously given Mitchem a detailed work plan which would bring his premises up to standard, with evidence provided at the inquiry that this had been achieved.

However, the RADB found Mitchem guilty on each charge. He was handed down a nine month disqualification on charge one, to commence on December 30, 2016, with no additional penalties imposed for the remaining two charges.

Decision reserved on assault and gun charges

The RADB has reserved its decision after Rosedale trainer Paul Andrews was the subject of a recent inquiry into his alleged conduct during a kennel inspection on August 11, 2015.

Andrews was slapped with five charges, summarised as follows:

1 – GAR 86(g) for wilfully assaulting GRV official A. Evans at his property on August 11, 2015.
2 – GAR 86 (g) for wilfully obstructing GRV officials A. Evans, F. Currie, G. Huntington and A. James from conducting a kennel inspection on August 11, 2015.
3 – GAR 86(g) for wilfully threatening GRV officials A. Evans, F. Currie, G. Huntington and A. James at his property on August 11, 2015.
4 – GAR 86(f) for engaging in unseemly, improper and offensive language towards GRV officials A. Evans, F. Currie, G. Huntington and A. James at his property on August 11, 2015.
5 – GAR 86(o) for discharging a firearm in the vicinity of GRV officials A. Evans, F. Currie, G. Huntington and A. James whilst they were exercising their duties at his property on August 11, 2015.

Andrews plead not guilty to the charges, with the board reserving its decision upon hearing submissions.

Chilcott guilty of prohibited substance breach

Julie Chilcott recently faced a RADB inquiry charged with a breach of the prohibited substance rule. The charge came after her greyhound Steady Walker returned a positive urine sample to ketoprofen when competing at Ballarat on Monday July 4, 2016.

During the course of the investigation, it was established the likely source of the positive swab was from contamination due to Chilcott feeding her greyhounds knackery sourced meat.

Chilcott plead guilty to the charge and was slapped with a $1,500 fine, $750 of which was suspended pending no further breaches of the prohibited substances rule within the next 12 months.

Consequently, Steady Walker was also disqualified from the event in question.

Trainer fined and disqualified for threatening behaviour

The RADB have fined a trainer $2,000 and banned him for two years after he was found guilty of a breach of GAR 86(f).

Samuel Riseley, from Cranbourne North, entered a guilty plea when he fronted an inquiry accused of using contemptuous, improper and offensive language in messages sent via Facebook to GRV steward Carl Scott on May 19 and 20 and June 6 and 7.

While the messages were not disclosed in the report from the inquiry, it was noted that the theme was ‘you can run but you cannot hide’, with the RADB of the belief the messages implicated a threat of actual physical violence or at least physical confrontation.

Riseley made submissions that no physical harm was intended by the messages, instead with the intent to remind Mr Scott to exercise authority knowing that at some time roles might be reversed.

Upon considering a penalty, the RADB was mindful that Riseley had previously been suspended for two months as a result of a physical altercation with another trainer.

Halliday notified of positive swab

South Australian trainer Robert Halliday has been notified that his greyhound Redda has returned a positive urine sample to cobalt at a level greater than the allowed threshold when competing at Mount Gambier on October 14, 2016.

He will now have to face a Greyhound Racing SA (GRSA) stewards’ inquiry at a date to be announced.

Zammit fined for race day treatment

The Queensland Racing Integrity Commission (QRIC) completed an inquiry last week into the circumstances surrounding the greyhound Reinhold, which regurgitated a tablet after competing at Albion Park on September 19, 2016.

The greyhound’s trainer, Michael Zammit, admitted to giving the greyhound a Rapidvite Rapid-K Tablet, a slow release potassium chloride tablet, on the day it was scheduled to race.

He was subsequently found guilty of breaching GAR 83(A), which prohibits race day treatment.

Upon considering a penalty, stewards were mindful that a urine sample taken from the greyhound and the tablet itself both returned a negative finding to any prohibited substance. Zammit was handed down a $500 fine.

Hess banned for two years

The QRIC continued an adjourned inquiry last week, which was in relation to registered trainer Anthony Hess and his alleged greyhound training activities at the property of disqualified trainer Tom Noble whilst Noble was in attendance.

Hess was charged with a breach of GAR 86(ah), which prohibits a registered person associating with a disqualified person for the purposes of greyhound racing.

Hess pleaded not guilty, but was found guilty as charged, and slapped with a two-year disqualification.

TONY Interligi has been fined after being found guilty of a breach of the prohibited substance rule, GAR 83(2)(3).

The charge was issued after Interligi’s greyhound, Inter Sandra, returned a positive urine sample to the category two prohibited substance, piroxicam, when it was presented to compete at Geelong on August 9, 2016.

A non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory drug, piroxicam was believed to have shown in the sample after Interligi admitting to rubbing a gel sold as ‘Feldene’ onto the greyhound a day or two prior to the event in question.

Interligi plead guilty to the charge, with stewards deciding to impose a $1500 fine – $500 of which was suspended for 12 months pending no further breaches of GAR 83.

Inter Sandra was also disqualified from the race at Geelong.

Cobalt positives for two Vic trainers

Robert Gore faced the RADB late last month after he was charged with four rule breaches relating to GAR 83(1A) and GAR 83(2)(3).

The charges were issued after Gore’s greyhound, Orchard Road, returned two positive urine samples to cobalt when racing at Warrnambool on June 16 and 23, 2016.

Under the rules of racing, the threshold for cobalt in a greyhound’s system is 100 nanograms per millilitre, with the samples taken showing mass concentrations of 178 an 249 nanograms respectively.

Gore made the submission that his feeding regime included the supplements Rapidfero and Ferramo, both of which contain cobalt.

Whilst he was not aware that the supplements contained cobalt, Gore pleaded guilty to the charges which related to the administration of a prohibited substance and presenting a greyhound to race when it is not free of a prohibited substance.

The RADB handed down a 12-month disqualification, with nine months suspended pending no further breaches of GAR 83 in the next year, for both of the GAR 83 administration charges, to be served concurrently. The RADB made the decision not to impose an extra penalty for the presentation charges.

Also the subject of an inquiry in relation to a cobalt positive was Greg Bromley who was slapped with a breach of GAR 83(1A) and GAR 83(2)(3) after his greyhound Lemon Patchwork tested positive for the substance after competing at Shepparton on August 22, 2016.

Bromley conceded to injecting Lemon Patchwork with B12 and Hemoplex two days prior to the event in question, whilst he also gave evidence that he used Livamol in the feed of the greyhound, unaware that it contained cobalt.

Bromley plead guilty to the charges and was disqualified for 15-months, with nine months suspended pending no further breaches of GAR 83 in the next 12 months, with the disqualification commencing on February 2, 2017.

Lemon Patchwork was also disqualified from the event in question.

Orchard Road was also disqualified from both races.

Lengthy ban for positive swabs

Alan Provest recently fronted a Greyhound Racing NSW (GRNSW) stewards’ inquiry charged with two breaches of the prohibited substance rule, GAR 83(2).

The first charge came after his greyhound Londonderry Lass returned a positive urine sample when competing at Nowra on November 2, 2015, whilst the second charge was in relation to the greyhound Excel Like Moses which returned a positive urine sample when competing at Richmond on April 13, 2016.

The prohibited substances in question were 5beta-androstane-3alpha, 17 beta-diol and tetrahydrozoline respectively. Provest plead guilty to the first charge and not guilty to the second, however, stewards found him guilty of both and handed down a total disqualification of 38 weeks.

The greyhounds were also disqualified from their respective events.

Jessup notified of positive swab

Greyhound Racing SA (GRSA) have notified trainer Brodie Jessup that his greyhound Asa Flying Spur returned a positive urine sample to desmethylvenlafaxine when competing at Angle Park on December 15, 2016.

Jessup will now be required to attend an inquiry, at a date to be fixed, where charges may be laid.

LEADING conditioner Anthony Azzopardi has been found guilty of a breach of the prohibited substance rule.

Azzopardi was charged with a breach of GAR 83(2)(3) after his greyhound, Asa Barboza, returned a positive sample to the banned substance methylprednisolone when competing at Ballarat on May 25, 2016.

Azzopardi plead guilty to the charge and gave evidence that the swab could have resulted due to the fact that he had fed non-human consumption meat to his ‘B-grade’ dogs which included Asa Barboza.

Upon consideration of the circumstances involved in the case, stewards imposed a $1500 fine, $500 of which was suspended pending no further breaches of GAR 83 in the next 12 months.

Additionally, Asa Barboza was disqualified from the event in question.

Morphine and codeine swab results in lengthy bans

Newborough trainer Joseph Sultana recently faced the Racing Appeals and Disciplinary Board (RADB) charged with two breaches of GAR 83(2)(3).

The charges were laid after the greyhounds Lucky Andy and Gee Whiz Gran both returned positive urine samples when competing at Traralgon on May 23 and 30 respectively.

The substances in question were codeine and morphine, with Sultana pleading guilty to both charges. Upon considering the evidence, the RADB determined a two year disqualification was satisfactory for the Lucky Andy charge, with 12 months suspended pending no further breaches of GAR 83 in the next two years.

Stewards also imposed the same penalty for the Gee Whiz Gran charge, ordered to be served concurrently with the first penalty.

Sultana’s period of disqualification is set to commence on February 17, while both greyhounds have also been disqualified from the events in question.

Victoria Sultana was also the subject of a RADB inquiry after the greyhounds Hurricane Craig and Brooklyn Cruiser returned positive urine samples to codeine and morphine when competing at Traralgon on August 8 and September 26.

The matter was heard together with the hearing of Joseph Sultana, with Victoria Sultana also charged with two breaches of the prohibited substance rule.

Victoria Sultana plead guilty to the charges and was also disqualified for two years commencing February 17, with 12 months suspended for two years pending no further breaches of GAR 83. The penalty was imposed for both offences, but are to be served concurrently.

All four greyhounds were withdrawn from their respective events.

Five trainers have their prohibited substance-related charges withdrawn

Five Victorian greyhound trainers have had their charges dropped by Greyhound Racing Victoria (GRV) stewards.

James Olsen, William McMahon, Judith McMahon, Cameron Taylor and Robert Whitford had all been charged with breaches of GAR 83(2)(3) and GAR 83(1A) after their greyhounds returned positive samples to arsenic.

However, at the RADB inquiries into the matter, stewards advised that they were withdrawing all charges for each participant.

Keegan suspended for two swabs

Peter Keegan has been suspended after two of his greyhounds returned positive urine samples to prohibited substances.

Keegan was charged with two breaches of GAR 83(2) after Kiss Me Junior and Kiss Me Marlow both returned positive urine samples when competing at The Gardens on August 6 and September 30 respectively.

The prohibited substances in question were arsenic and cobalt.

Keegan entered an early guilty plea to both charges and, upon deliberation, Greyhound Racing NSW (GRNSW) stewards imposed a suspension of 12 weeks for each charge, to be served concurrently.

Anthony Cerveny disqualified

Aberglasslyn trainer Anthony Cerveny was also the subject of a recent GRNSW stewards’ inquiry after his greyhound, Namanga, returned a positive urine sample to arsenic when competing at Maitland on June 9, 2016.

Cerveny entered a not guilty plea to a breach of the prohibited substance rule, GAR 83(2) and provided evidence to an inquiry conducted by GRNSW.

After considering the circumstances, including that Cerveny had been licensed since 1981 with no prior positive swabs, stewards handed down a six-week disqualification.

In a triumph for common sense and good law, charges have been withdrawn against five Victorian trainers accused of administering the prohibited substance arsenic and breaching Greyhound Australasia Rule (GAR) 83 (1A) and 83 (2)(3).

The recent request by the Greyhound Racing Victoria (GRV) stewards to withdraw arsenic charges was the only logical conclusion to a “comedy of errors” that lasted in excess of nine months and should have been sorted without the intervention of the RADB.

Excessive amounts of arsenic are believed to affect the cardiovascular system of greyhounds, so in late 2015 GRV started testing for arsenic, putting trainers on notice that it would enforce breaches of a proposed urinary threshold of 800 ng/mL that was to come into effect on July 1, 2016.

GRV stewards became aware of a number of swabs clearly exceeding the 800 ng/mL threshold and initially no charges were laid. Instead, stewards continued to monitor swabs and the information about high levels was withheld from trainers.

The issue of arsenic positives first came to light when the greyhound ‘Stevron Autos’ produced two positive swabs at the Meadows on January 27 and also February 3, 2016. Additional charges were laid against four other trainers between February–May 2016.

Investigations into the feeding regimes of the dogs and subsequent testing by GRV identified the source of the arsenic as an over the counter Kelp supplement readily available to the public, marketed to the racing industry as being free of prohibited substances and sold at GRV tracks across Victoria.

But despite that simple explanation and an easy fix to the problem, GRV stewards were adamant that they were to proceed with charges and appear at the RADB. A decision they would ultimately regret.

The five trainers were each charged with two offences: administered or caused to be administered a prohibited substance; and failing to present the greyhound free of any prohibited substance.

It didn’t take long for the GRV case to start to come unglued because GAR 83 1 (a) requires that a prohibited substance is administered, or had someone else administer with prior knowledge.

Arsenic is not a foreign matter, it is not a narcotic, it is prevalent and it is even in water. One of the most interesting findings of this case is that upon analysis, arsenic was found to be present in the control solution, the swab referee sample, of two of these greyhounds.

Despite the trainers having absolute liability for their actions, the RADB members questioned how the trainers could have had prior knowledge, how it could have been deliberate and with intent, when the source of the arsenic was unknown at the time of the breaches.

With GAR 83 1 (a) ill founded, the attention the turned to GAR 83 (2) that deals with presenting a dog free of a prohibited substance.

Particulars of a charge relate to a charge and the charge relates to the rules and the rule had not commenced. So the Board found that it was not permissible for GRV to rely on the threshold as it had not been enacted and it was only a suggestion of excessive levels.

On December 5 2016, during the enquiries of William and Judith McMahon, the RADB and Mr Vince Murphy, appearing for the McMahons, raised with Counsel for the Stewards that “as particularized the charges were based upon possibly false premises”.

Counsel for GRV knew they were in trouble and decided to change tactics, choosing to opt for the charge of “the presence of a prohibited substance”, because they argued that its presence was capable of affecting a greyhound’s performance.

However, some time between the RADB hearing in December and the date set down for February 7, 2017 they realised that by successfully running the argument of the presence of a prohibited substance, they would have effectively created a massive problem for the whole greyhound industry.

GRV Chief Vet, Steven Karamatic had given evidence that greyhounds have a natural level of arsenic of around 20-25ng/mL but the problem GRV Counsel had was that without a threshold level, even one ng/mL breached the Rule.

Extrapolating those facts out it would have been impossible to race a greyhound in Victoria because every greyhound that was swabbed would naturally record a positive to arsenic and all trainers would be in breach of the Rule.

Swab by swab they would have eventually penalised every trainer and the result would have been to progressively close down greyhound racing in Victoria. With that realisation hanging over their heads, GRV was left with no alternative but to withdraw the five charges.

Finally common sense prevailed and after months of unnecessary stress and anxiety, the charges disappeared with the stroke of a pen, and the five trainers are now able to get on with their lives.

No one can question GRV’s vision for a drug free sport but on this occasion a lot of time and money was wasted on chasing what everyone, including GRV, knew was a simple feeding error.

PROMINENT central west trainer Jeanette Foley has been slapped with an interim suspension by Greyhound Racing NSW (GRNSW) after one of her greyhounds returned a positive urine sample to amphetamine and benzoylecgonine.

Benzoylecgonine is the main metabolite of cocaine, whilst amphetamine, also known by it’s street name speed, is a potent central nervous system stimulant.

Both illegal substances were found in the sample taken from the greyhound Queen Tarro after it competed at Wentworth Park on November 9, 2016.

Given the seriousness of the substances detected, GRNSW made the swift decision to suspend Foley’s licence pending an inquiry into the matter.

Foley is a well-known trainer in NSW, having trained numerous chasers from her property at Guerie such as Lil Miss Sparkle, Taros Miss, Kaiser King and Tinker King.

Queen Taro, a daughter of Dyna Tron and Miss Taro, has been a sensational money-spinner, winning 18 of her 47 starts, including the race on November 9, 2016, which was won in 31.19.

Trainer receives fine for Human Growth Hormone

A controversial and publicised case against NSW trainer Scott Austen has resulted in a $750 fine after he was found guilty of possessing a prohibited substance under GAR 84(4).

The charges were laid after Austen was found to have a quantity of Human Growth Hormone, the active ingredient in Novatropin, at his training property on June 29, 2016.

Austen entered a guilty plea, with stewards considering numerous factors including that none of his greyhounds returned a positive urine sample to the banned substance when they were swabbed at the property on June 29.

Lengthy suspension for banned substance

Leith McHugh was recently the subject of a GRNSW stewards’ inquiry charged with a breach of the prohibited substance rule, GAR 83(2).

The charges were laid after McHugh’s greyhound, See That, returned a positive urine sample to the prohibited substances amphetamine and caffeine when competing at Grafton on July 25, 2016.

Despite stewards contacting McHugh various times, the trainer did not respond to the charge which is considered as a plea of not guilty.

At the inquiry into the matter, stewards found McHugh guilty of presenting the greyhound to race when it was not free of a prohibited substance.

Upon considering the evidence, including the high levels of the prohibited substances in the sample, stewards decided to impose a six-year disqualification which commenced on February 1, 2017.

The greyhound was also disqualified from the relevant event.

Three NSW trainers face stewards over arsenic swabs

Three NSW greyhound trainers have faced a stewards’ inquiry after their greyhounds returned positive urine samples to arsenic.

Leading conditioner Christine Proctor was implicated after her greyhound Sheez All That returned a positive urine sample when competing at Gosford on November 15, 2016.

Prominent northern rivers trainer Sonia Kempshall had three greyhounds return positive swabs to arsenic, all of which were at Casino – Palazzo, Price Rise and Slender Jappa on August 12, October 4 and October 14 respectively.

Hunter Valley trainer Lena Sweetman’s greyhound Short Signature also swabbed positive for arsenic when competing at Gosford on October 25, 2016.

All three trainers plead guilty to breaches of GAR 83(2), with Proctor and Kempshall both receiving $750 fines, meanwhile Sweetman was handed down a suspension of six weeks.

Hefty fine for Gale

GRNSW stewards recently conducted an inquiry into the findings in the urine sample taken from the greyhound Gloria’s Bills when it won at Wentworth Park on July 6, 2016.

Stewards charged the greyhound’s trainer John Gale with a breach of GAR 83(2) with the urine sample testing positive for guaifenesin, a medication often used to loosen congestion in the chest and throat.

Gale entered an early guilty plea and appeared before the inquiry to give evidence and make submissions in regards to penalty.

Upon considering the circumstances of the case, stewards determined that a fine of $1,125 was the appropriate penalty.

Ashley Bock faces misconduct charges

Queensland trainer Ashley Bock recently faced the Queensland Racing Integrity Commission (QRIC) faced with three charges.

The first charge was for a breach of rule GAR 86(f)(i) after it was alleged that Bock improperly conducted himself by verbally abusing and threatening steward Michael Coogan via a telephone call to Mr Elliot Joseph. Bock plead not guilty, but was found guilty as charged and was fined $1000, with half suspended for 12 months under GAR 95(3).

The second charge related to a breach of GAR 106 after Bock failed to notify the QRIC within two working days that the greyhound Irish Auscech had been euthanised. Bock plead guilty and was fined $200.

His third rule breach was under LR 24(17) after Bock failed to notify Racing Queensland of his change of address within two days. Bock plead not guilty but was found guilty as charged and fined $100.

Don Turner appeals sentence

South Australian trainer Don Turner has successfully appealed the severity of a penalty imposed by Greyhound Racing South Australia (GRSA) stewards after being found guilty of a breach of GAR 83(2).

Turner was found guilty of a breach of the prohibited substance rule after his greyhound Bull Titan returned a positive urine sample to cobalt when it won at Gawler on July 31, 2016.

Turner was handed down a six-month disqualification by GRSA, but feeling this was too harsh, took the decision to the Racing Appeals Tribunal.

Turner gave evidence that the positive swab could have resulted from using the product Ferramo-D too close to the race in question. Also taken into consideration was that the reading in the sample was only slightly above the allowed threshold.

The Racing Appeals Tribunal decided to alter the penalty to four months’ disqualification with a fine of $1000 – $500 of which was suspended pending no similar rule breaches within the next 12 months.

Halliday faces stewards over cobalt swab

GRSA concluded an inquiry last Friday into the analysis of two post-race urine samples taken from greyhounds trained by Robert Halliday.

Both samples, taken from the greyhounds Homer and Redda, showed the presence of cobalt in excess of the 100ng/mL threshold.
Stewards subsequently slapped Halliday with two breaches of GAR 83(2) to which he plead guilty.

Upon considering the evidence presented in the case, stewards imposed a six-month disqualification for each charge, to be served concurrently, starting from February 19, 2017.

Stewards also disqualified Homer from winning at Mount Gambier on September 9, 2016, and Redda from winning at Mount Gambier on October 14, 2016.

Armstrong guilty of prohibited substance breach

Hoppers Crossing trainer Chris Armstrong recently faced the Victorian Racing Appeals and Disciplinary Board (RADB) charged with a breach of GAR 83(1A) and GAR 83 (2)(3).

The charges were laid after Armstrong’s greyhound Nirvana Armo returned a positive pre-race urine sample to cobalt higher than the allowed threshold when presented to compete at Ballarat on September 5, 2016.

Armstrong pleaded guilty to the charges which related to administering a prohibited substance and presenting a greyhound to race when not free of a prohibited substance.

During the investigation, Armstrong gave evidence that he used a product known as Animo Cal Plus by Rapidvite without being aware that the supplement contained cobalt and vitamin b12.

In assessing the penalty, the RADB considered the specifics of the case and decided to hand down a 15-month disqualification, with nine months suspended pending no further breaches of the prohibited substance rule within the next 15 months.

His disqualification period will commence on February 22, 2017.

Joy Mills fined

Joy Mills also faced the RADB recently after being charged with a breach of the prohibited substance rule. The breach related to Mills’ greyhound Fancy Minter which returned a positive urine sample to procaine when presented to race at Sale on October 16, 2016.

Mills pleaded guilty to the charge and gave evidence that the swab may have resulted from feeding her greyhound knackery meat rather than meat for human consumption.

Subsequently, Mills was handed down a $1500 fine, with $500 suspended for 12 months pending no further breaches of GAR 83 during that time.

Mizzi decision affirmed on appeal

Charles Mizzi recently appealed the severity of a penalty he was handed down by the RADB after being found guilty of four breaches relating to LR 83 (1A) and GAR 83 (2).

Mizzi was found guilty of administering and presenting two of his greyhounds to race when not free of a prohibited substance, with both dogs returning urine samples which showed the presence of cobalt higher than the allowed threshold.

Mizzi was disqualified for 15 months with nine months suspended, pending no further breaches of GAR 83 within the following 12 months.

Mizzi took the matter to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) which had granted a stay of proceedings in regards to his disqualification, however after the recent hearing, the RADB decision was affirmed and the stay of proceedings was set aside, with the period of disqualification coming into effect.

ROSEDALE trainer Paul Andrews has been banned from greyhound racing for a decade after being found guilty of a string of offences, including assaulting a steward at his property in August 2015.

All up, Andrews was charged with five rule breaches, one of which was under GAR 86(o). That charge was laid after it was alleged that Andrews discharged a firearm in the vicinity of GRV officials while at his property on August 11, 2015. The RADB determined to impose a 10-year disqualification for this offence.

Andrews was also charged under GAR 86(g) for wilfully obstructing the GRV officials whilst they were trying to conduct a kennel inspection.

The inquiry heard that the charge included the discharge of the firearm, an attempt from Andrews to take the iPad of steward Adam Evans and for swearing at the officials to get off his property. On this charge he was banned for two years, to be served concurrently with the breach of GAR 86(o).

Charge three also related to GAR 86(g) after it was alleged that Andrews wilfully threatened the GRV officials – for this breach he was also given two years’ disqualification, once again to be served concurrently.

The next charge, another breach of GAR 86(g) was laid after it was alleged that Andrews wilfully assaulted Adam Evans. The inquiry heard that Andrews launched at Evans and pushed and shoved him. For this breach he was banned for five years, to be served concurrently.

The final charge was in relation to GAR 86(f) after Andrews swore at the GRV officials. For this breach he was banned for one year, to be served concurrently with the previous charges.

Andrews’ suspension was backdated to commence on the date of his original suspension, August 17 2015.

Partington disqualified

Isobel Partington recently faced a RADB inquiry charged with two breaches relating to the administration of a prohibited substance and presenting a greyhound to race when not free of a prohibited substance.

The charges followed a positive urine sample taken from the greyhound Belron Brum at Cranbourne on July 8, 2016, which was tested and found to contain arsenic at a mass concentration higher than the allowed threshold of 800ng per millilitre.

The swab showed a readying of 2600ng per millilitre.

Partington pleaded not guilty to the charges but could not give an explanation as to why the positive swab had occurred. However, she alleged that the greyhound may have eaten the vomit of a dead fox which may have been baited with arsenic. This explanation was deemed to be implausible.

The RADB considered factors in the case including that an out of competition test sample on August 11, 2016, showed Belron Brum had a urinary arsenic concentration of only 21 nanograms per millilitre.

Stewards found Partington guilty as charged and handed down a six months disqualification on the administration charge and a three months disqualification on the presentation charge, to be served concurrently.

Belrom Brum was also disqualified from the race, with Partington’s disqualification period set to commence on February 26, 2017.

Johnson handed down suspended disqualification and fine

Garry Johnson also fronted the RADB recently, with four charges relating to administering and presenting a greyhound to race not free of a prohibited substance, 83 (1A) and 83 (2)(3).

The charges related to the greyhounds Hugh Made Who and Shakey Benz which returned a positive urine sample to arsenic above the allowed threshold at Cranbourne and Healesville on June 15 and July 10 respectively.

Charges 1, 2, and 3 were struck out on application from the stewards, who only pursued the charge relating to the presentation of Shakey Benz at Healesville on July 10.

Johnson pleaded guilty to the charge and gave evidence that the positive swab may have occurred as a result of the greyhound chewing the pine bedding in its kennel prior to the race.

Upon considering the circumstances, the RADB found Johnson guilty and imposed a six months disqualification, fully suspended pending no further breaches of GAR 83 within the next six months. He was also slapped with a $1000 fine.

Shakey Benz was disqualified from the event in question.

Chappelow fined

Prominent New South Wales trainer Ken Chappelow has been found guilty of breaching the prohibited substance rule and fined by Greyhound Racing NSW (GRNSW).

Chappelow entered an early guilty plea to a breach of GAR 83(2) after his greyhound Vintage Charm returned a positive urine sample to flunixin when racing at Wentworth Park on October 19, 2016.

Upon considering the circumstances, stewards imposed a fine of $625 whilst they also disqualified the greyhound from the event in question.

Fahey suspended

Also facing the GRNSW stewards this week was Arthur Fahey, who was charged with a breach of GAR 83(2) after his greyhound Arthur Drum returned a positive urine sample to cobalt when competing at Wagga on November 25, 2016.

Fahey entered an early guilty plea whilst stewards determined throughout the inquiry that there were no aggravating factors present.

The steward imposed a suspension of 15 weeks and also disqualified the greyhound from the relevant event.

Crossley fined

John Crossley has been fined $625 by GRNSW stewards after being found guilty of breaching the prohibited substance rule.

The charges were laid after Crossley’s greyhound Bridgey’s Boy returned a urine sample which showed the presence of the prohibited substances phenylbutazone and its metabolites oxyphenbutazone and gamma-hydroxyphenylbutazone when competing at Dubbo on April 24, 2016.

Crossley pleaded not guilty to the charge, but was found guilty at an inquiry into the matter.

Factors considered before the fine was issued included the low level of the substance detected, Crossley’s contribution to the industry and that fact that he had been licensed since 1975 with no prior positive swabs.

The Greyhound Welfare & Integrity Commission (GWIC) has announced it will enhance its Prohibited Substance Detection Program by increasing pre-race and out of competition swabbing.

Chief Veterinary Officer, Michelle Ledger, said the Commission recently introduced out of competition blood and urine testing for the Golden Easter Egg series.

“While the testing of blood and hair samples is not foreign to the industry it will soon become more common with the Commission’s enhanced Prohibited Substance Detection Program,” Dr Ledger said.

“Urine samples are common practice and can be used to detect the majority of prohibited substances, but as technology continues to evolve, blood and hair samples will be more commonly obtained to allow for thorough testing of all permanently banned prohibited substances.”

The list of permanently banned substances are referred to in GAR 79A(2) and include types of stimulants, growth hormones, peptide hormones, anabolic steroids and other illicit substances.

“The out of competition program was very successful during the Golden Easter Egg series in April, with all samples returning a negative result for permanently banned substances,” Dr Ledger said.

The Commission’s multi-dimensional strategy aims to deter the small minority of people who deliberately attempt to influence the outcome of a race by using prohibited substances.

“Our comprehensive program focuses on safeguarding the integrity of race meetings with pre and post urine race sample testing, and additional post-race blood testing when appropriate,” Dr Ledger said.

“Blood, urine and hair testing will also ensure the out of competition environment is equally protected.”

This increased focus on collecting blood and urine samples both in and out of competition aims to strengthen both industry and public confidence as the Commission continues to commit to transparent reporting.