Several weeks ago stewards from Racing Victoria and Racing NSW attended our stables,without notice, and informed us that two of our horses had returned positive swabs to caffeine. These swabs were taken at the Berrigan Cup meeting on the 1st of November 2014. We were extremely concerned and baffled by these findings. We offered our full cooperation and assistance to the Stewards. A search was conducted of our medical storage facilities and all areas of the stable complex, nothing containing caffeine was found except for an energy drink in one refrigerator and coffee in the kitchen area.

Last Tuesday we appeared before a racing NSW Stewards Inquiry relative to this incident, we appeared  without legal representation. We were charged under AR 178 in that we allowed a horse to be brought to a racecourse with a prohibited substance in its system, two charges. We pleaded guilty to these charges because it was clear to us that the Certificate of Analysis showed the presence of caffeine in the samples taken from the horses. As the certificate is prima facie evidence of the presence of caffeine we were of the belief that it would be futile to dispute the finding. It must be understood that we were not charged with or accused of administering a prohibited substance We vehemently deny any suggestion that we knowingly administered this substance to our horses.

The stewards conducted a comprehensive investigation into betting on both races, they could not find anything that  indicated there were any inconsistencies in the betting sheets of the on course bookmakers. The race meeting was a non TAB meeting and the only method of betting was via the bookmakers. Being a non TAB meeting the prize money on offer was minimal, our share of the prize money was a total of $342.50. Who would jeopardize their livelihood for this amount?

We have been training horses both in partnership and individually for about twenty years. In this time we have never been charged with any offence under the rules of racing and we have never received a fine for any race day infraction. Despite our exemplary record we were suspended from training racehorses for a total period of four months, we were given seven days to remove the horses from the stables and find another trainer.

We have now sought legal advice and as a result have lodged an appeal. We intend to provide further evidence and explore the inconsistencies in evidence offered at the inquiry. We aren't in a position to state what that may be due to the pending appeal.

To say we are disappointed with this finding is an understatement, we are gutted. At all times the horses in our care are treated with the utmost care and attention, we would not jeopardize the health or well being of our horses for any reason. Our love of horses is the reason we train. We are aware that caffeine is a prohibited substance and it would be madness for us to administer this substance knowing that we would be risking our livelihood.

We are humbled by and truly appreciate the messages of support and the offers of help from our owners, friends, other trainers and the large number of people we have met during our time in racing. It is a great support to us that people in the industry acknowledge our love of horses and are in disbelief that any of our horses would be administered a prohibited substance.

To our owners, you can rest assured that your horse will not suffer because of this incident. The wellbeing of your horse is our priority. If your horse is in a racing preparation, this will continue, we will send them to another trainer that we believe will give them the care and attention that is required to give them the best chance of being successful. Our stable manager Bob will liaise with the trainer and keep you all informed of your horses progress. If your horse is spelling it will continue to do so and will be brought back into training at the appropriate time. Bob will also keep you informed of your horses progress. Please don't hesitate to contact Bob if you have any questions.

Once again thank you all for your support and we look forward to further exploring this incident at appeal.

Regards

Mick & Donna.