Stewards wrap: another suspension for cobalt positive
TALBOT trainer Troy Scott has been suspended by the Victorian Racing Appeals and Disciplinary Board (RADB) after one of his greyhounds returned a positive urine sample to a prohibited substance.
Scott faced an inquiry charged with two rule breaches relating to administering a prohibited substance, GAR 83(1A) and failing to present a greyhound free of any prohibited substance, GAR 83(2)(3).
The charges were laid after Scott's greyhound Archer's Will returned a pre-race urine sample when competing at Bendigo on March 22 where the prohibited substance cobalt was detected at a level above the allowed threshold.
Scott pleaded guilty to the administration charge and admitted to stewards that the day before the race he injected the greyhound with B Complex, a substance which contains B12. Scott had sought assurances from the manufacturers and their veterinarians that the product would not result in a positive swab.
Scott also pleaded guilty to the presentation charge, however the Board decided to only impose a penalty on the administration charge.
After deliberating the case, the RADB handed down a 12-month suspension with nine months suspended pending no further breaches of GAR 83 in the next year.
Ryan suspended
Kim Ryan recently faced a RADB inquiry charged with a breach of the prohibited substances rule after her greyhound Early Spring returned a positive urine sample to theobromine, a metabolite of caffeine, when presented to race at Healesville on April 23, 2017.
Ryan was slapped with a breach of GAR 83(2)(3) to which she pleaded guilty. Ryan presented at the inquiry that the positive could have arisen from feeding the greyhound blueberry yoghurt.
Her reasoning for this belief was that a google search had said that theobromine can be found in artificial sweeteners, however stewards found that there was not enough evidence to support this theory.
Ryan was suspended for two months, effective immediately, whilst the greyhound was also disqualified from the event in question.
Imlach gets suspended sentence
Jeanette Imlach has been handed down a suspended sentence after being found guilty of two rule breaches relating to a prohibited substance.
Imlach was charged with two rule breaches relating to administering a prohibited substance, GAR 83(1A) and failing to present a greyhound free of any prohibited substance, GAR 83(2)(3).
The charges came after Imlach's greyhound Jayanti returned a positive pre-race urine sample to arsenic when competing at Warragul on May 4, 2017.
Imlach pleaded guilty, but was only issued a penalty on the administration charge. During the inquiry she gave evidence that she had fed her greyhound giant kelp, a seaweed supplement which contains arsenic, two days prior to the event.
The RADB considered Imlach's clean record throughout a 40-year involvement in greyhound racing and issued a six-month suspension, wholly suspended for 12 months pending no further breaches of GAR 83 in the next 12 months.
Imlach was also fined $750 and Jayanti was disqualified from the event in question.
Chegia penalty altered on appeal
Oswald Chegia recently appealed the severity of a sentence handed down by Greyhound Racing SA (GRSA) stewards after he was found guilty of breaching the prohibited substances rule.
The particulars of the case were that Chegia had been suspended for six months (with three months suspended) and issued a $4,000 fine after his greyhound Shez Rocking returned a positive urine sample to arsenic on January 11, 2017.
Chegia appealed the severity of the fine, arguing that it was excessive and disproportionate.
GRSA stated the penalty imposed was in lieu of a disqualification.
Whilst it was Chegia's second breach of GAR 83, the Appeal Tribunal agreed that the fine was excessive and reduced it to $2,000.
The suspension element of the penalty was affirmed.