The Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board appeals board have upheld the six-month licence suspension of trainer Charles Byrnes after his runner, Viking Hoard, failed a drugs test post-race.
The Byrnes-trained Viking Hoard was pulled up at Tramore on 18 October, 2018, after which a urine sample was found to contain hydroxyethylpromazinehydroxide (HEPS), a metabolite of acepromazine, which is a sedative and prohibited under the rules of racing.
Byrnes requested to have the 'B' sample analysed, which was carried out by LCH Laboratories in France and the adverse analytical finding for HEPS was confirmed.
The trainer was given the suspension for leaving the horse unattended for over 20 minutes, with the referrals committee of the IHRB finding Byrnes to have been "seriously negligent" in his supervision of Viking Hoard on the day.
The grounds of appeal lodged were that the sanction imposed was unduly severe and disproportionate.
However the appeals board upheld the original sanction and issued a lengthy ruling to back up their decision.
A statement from the appeals board read: "Having considered the evidence, the Appeals Body dismissed the appeal and reaffirmed the decision on penalty of the Referrals Committee and awarded costs of €1,500 to the IHRB and ordered that the appeal deposit of €500 be forfeited."
The appeals body said submissions referenced "Mr Byrnes' personal and financial circumstances and his success as an experienced and capable trainer for 26 years", and that the loss of his licence "would be ruinous for him" as his employees would have to be let go and horses currently under his charge would have to be sent elsewhere.
But it added that "the focus of the Appeals Body’s deliberations must be on the blameworthiness of Mr Byrnes’ conduct. In the judgement of the Appeals Body, Mr Byrnes failure to ensure any attendance on Viking Hoard at Tramore Racecourse stables for two significant periods prior to the race on 18 October was, in the language of the Referrals Body, 'seriously negligent’."
It added: "Whilst the Appeals Body accepts that there is no evidence that he (Byrnes) was aware of the extraordinary and suspicious betting activity on Viking Hoard, it simply cannot ignore the very serious consequences which flowed from his misconduct and dereliction of duty."
The appeals body said the penalties were to take effect 14 days from the publication of the verdict.
Speaking via Zoom at a press conference arrange by the IHRB, its chief executive Denis Egan said he was "satisfied" with the result while also finding it far from ideal they were still no nearer to knowing who administered the drug or who laid the horse.
"We’re satisfied with the outcome of the investigation. In a perfect world of course we’d like to know who administered the solution to the horse and we’d also have liked to have found out who laid the bet," said Egan.
"Unfortunately we don’t know who administered the solution and the person who laid the bet is outside the jurisdiction, as such. The perfect result would have been to get both of those, but I think the result is excellent.
"This is something that could have gone completely under the radar had the horse not been sampled in Tramore and I think it was a very good investigation.
"We’ve an excellent relationship with Betfair/Paddy Power and I want to pay tribute to them for their cooperation on an ongoing basis. They supply information to us and are always willing to support us in any investigation."
Egan also confirmed that Byrnes is not a disqualified person, meaning he can continue to work in racing during his period of suspension.
