Irish trainer Luke Comer has been issued a three-year suspension over a 2021 scandal which saw a dozen of his charges test positive for anabolic steroids, reports the Racing Post. Comer has also been ordered to pay €755,754 in costs plus fines of €85,000, a total just shy of US$900,000.
The Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board released a lengthy report Thursday morning, detailing the trace findings of methandienone (MD) and methylestosterone (MT) via hair testing. Comer denied that he or any of his staff were involved in doping the dozen horses; the report also detailed that Comer repeatedly challenged the use of hair samples as a suitable matrix for sampling, thus adding significantly to the expense and length of the inquiry.
Among those horses to positive for the anabolic steroids was He Knows No Fear, which racingpost.com reported is the longest-priced winner in the history of the sport in Ireland or Britain at 300-1 when winning a maiden race at Leopardstown in 2020. The horse tested positive after a stakes race at Leopardstown in October of 2021; this was the test that led to the out-of-competition testing at Comer's yard a month later.
The breakdown of the fines is as follows: Comer was fined €5,000 for each of the 12 positive tests, a further €20,000 for acting “in a manner which is prejudicial to the integrity, proper conduct or good regulation of horseracing,” and an additional €5,000 for supplying “misleading evidence” during his hearing.
The IHRB also directed that Comer be required to pay 80 percent of the costs incurred in prosecuting this matter.
According to the report, “Mr. Comer is a wealthy man and the effect of a fine on him must be considered and the Committee must take into account his personal circumstances.” Comer is a billionaire businessman and owns Comer Group International alongside his brother; Comer Group is one of the United Kingdom's largest and most successful property companies, per the company website.
Read more at the Racing Post. The full IHRB report is available here.
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