Suspended Sentence For Disqualified Greyhound Trainers Heptaminol Positive
Greyhound Racing Victoria haven’t improved their reporting standards despite wholesale changes in their ruling executives.
Again it has taken them more than a week to publicly report a positive swab stewards inquiry. But better yet, the actual; positive swab occurred more than 12 months ago, and the person involved is already serving a 9 month disqualification for a Nandrolone positive swab.
No explanation at all was forthcoming from GRV Stewards as to why it took nearly 12 months from the date of the offence for the inquiry and RADB hearing to be held, except that a reference can be found to a directions hearing in October 2012, where concerns seem to have centred around the testing of the reserve “B” sample.
Nothing from the current Stewards Inquiry report would indicate any issue with the “B” sample testing.
Remarkably this positive swab inquiry comes when greyhound trainer Barry Wells is already serving a 9 month disqualification for a positive swab in one of his greyhounds to the anabolic steroid Nandrolone.
To raise further concern for racing integrity in Victoria, a positive swab in NSW to Heptaminol would attract a 24 weeks base penalty. Yet Wells has been handed an extremely light suspended disqualification and a $1,000 fine for this latest positive by the RADB. Effectively reducing the penalty for a positive swab to Heptaminol to a fine only.
Heptaminol is a strong vasodilator that stimulates cardiac output and improves peripheral blood flow. It is the same drug that Kazakhstani cyclist Dmitry Fofonov tested positive for in the 2008 Tour De France and a key ingredient in the injectable muscle stimulant, Kynoselen.
In the past few years penalties ranging from 2 years disqualification to 3 months disqualification have been received for Heptaminol posiitve swabs in greyhounds
Heptaminol Positives in Greyhounds
- Thrupp’s Positive Swab Raises More Questions Than Answers
- Ray Cooper Disqualified For Four Months For Heptaminol Positive At Goulburn Greyhounds
- Ken Plumridge Fined For Heptaminol Positive From Appin Greyhounds
- Annette Castles Suspended For 2 Years For Heptaminol Positive In New South Wales Greyhound
How do the RADB panel of former GRV Board member John Wardle, legal eagle Terry O’Connor, and The Meadows Secretary Manager Marg Long; justify an effective fine only penalty for a positive swab that has attracted such serious penalties in other cases?
How does a trainer already serving a 9 month disqualification get given the dispensation of a suspended sentence for a second offence?
This latest RADB hearing decision comes less than a month after they handed Andrea Dailly a fine only for a Carpfrofen positive swab