IHRB Defends Its Actions in Irish Government Hearings

The first hearing of the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board in front of a Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine began in Ireland on Thursday, with the IHRB defending itself rigorously. The IHRB has come under pressure recently regarding concerns over doping in Irish racing following Irish trainer Jim Bolger's claims in a newspaper interview that there would be a “Lance Armstrong” moment in the Irish industry. Irish Government committee members asked questions of Horse Racing Ireland's Chief Executive Brian Kavanagh, IHRB Chief Executive Denis Egan and IHRB Chief Veterinary Officer Dr. Lynn Hillyer. The meeting began with an opening statement from Kavanagh.

He stated in part the vital nature of horse racing to Ireland's economy and “as such, the reputation and integrity of the product is of paramount importance, so the issue of drug testing is an important one with significant funds invested annually in this area.

“HRI sees its role as ensuring that the IHRB has sufficient resources, both financial, human and capital to carry out its responsibilities to the level expected of a major racing nation–and we support the IHRB to constantly improve their capacity in this area.”

Kavanagh also cited the increased spending on testing, which has spread to all winners in Ireland, as well as more out-of-competition testing at a variety of venues.

He said, “Spending on doping control has increased by 27% in the last four years, and Horse Racing Ireland has advised the IHRB that funding will never be an issue for meaningful initiatives to improve capability or increase capacity in this area.”

Egan, who recently announced he was taking early retirement, stated, “The IHRB's Equine Anti-Doping programme has developed into a sophisticated and extensive risk-based and intelligence-led strategy, in which it is not just the numbers of samples which matter but from what horse they are taken, where and when.

“Any information received by us is assessed, categorised and actioned as appropriate. It is vitally important to the IHRB that those directly and indirectly involved in the industry understand this and the fact that they can provide any information to us in a confidential manner via the confidential hotline, email or by contacting our officials.”

He added, “We have a top-class anti-doping team headed up by Dr. Lynn Hillyer–and while we continue to evidence that there is no systematic attempt to cheat through doping in Irish racing, we will continue, with the assistance of the industry and those outside, to effectively detect, disrupt and deter such behaviour. It will not be tolerated–we will continue to seek it out–and where discovered, we will take all actions within our power to combat it without fear or favour.”

Dr. Hillyer reinforced Egan's statements and said, “The process is very simple. The information can come in via a number of routes, but once it lands on a desk it is dealt with. We don't care how it comes in, but the important thing is that it comes in. We need to differentiate between information coming in and hearsay. I'm not saying we disregard either, but we have to process it and assess it–that is basically converting information into intelligence, and we work very closely with the BHA now. Every piece of information is logged.

“One of the things that rankled the most reading the piece last week was the six horses sold from Ireland to the UK who were alleged to have traces of anabolic steroids. We were alleged to be doing nothing about it, but that couldn't be further from the truth. The minute that information came to the BHA they acted on it and communicated with us–we were across it and we were prepared to act.

“They did the most extensive piece of work I think I've ever seen. They analysed tail hair, mane hair–they analysed samples repeatedly, and there was nothing.”

Not all of the pertinent questions were asked in the two-hour limit, so another meeting has been called for July 20. In addition, on July 13, the Irish Racehorse Trainers Association and representatives from the Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine will also meet.

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Irish Government Committee To Conduct Hearings On Racehorse Doping Allegations

An Irish parliamentary committee will be conducting the first of three hearings on Thursday, July 8, looking into the allegations of racehorse doping made by leading trainer Jim Bolger, who said in a June interview with Paul Kimmage of the Irish Independent, “There will be a Lance Armstrong in Irish racing.”

Representatives of Horse Racing Ireland, the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board and the Irish Racehorse Trainers Association are expected to testify during the hearings, which continued on July 13, with two separate sessions.

Bolger was invited to testify but declined on the advice of his lawyer. The trainer, whose recent successes include Poetic Flare's victory in the Group 1 St. James's Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot, also declined to state who in Irish racing he believes are doping their horses. “They can rest assured I know who they are,” Bolger told the Independent. “Like, if I had responsibility for rooting out cheats, I've have them rooted out in six months.”

In the wake of Bolger's inflammatory interview, Denis Egan, the longtime chief executive of the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board – the organization that felt the brunt of the trainer's criticism – announced that he his leaving his post in September at the age of 60. Egan has said his decision to take an early retirement has nothing to do with Bolger's comments. He has been with the regulatory board (previously known as the Irish Turf Club) for 26 years, 20 of them as its chief executive.

Bolger's concerns with doping trace back to the 2012 seizure by Irish customs officers of Nitrotain, a steroid manufactured in Australia. The packages were addressed to veterinarian John Hughes, who was found to have imported more than 500 pounds of Nitrotain over 10 years. Hughes received a five-year ban from racing. Bolger contends the regulatory board didn't fully investigate where the Nitrotain was going or follow up on a list of trainers they discovered when they searched Hughes' residence.

Jackie Cahill, who chairs the Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine, stated: “The Committee has agreed to a series of meetings to discuss the concerning commentary around the integrity of the horseracing industry in Ireland and possible drug use in the sport. We have taken the opportunity to invite the relevant individuals, bodies and organizations in to discuss the recent, very concerning, commentary on the matter and giving them the time and place to debate the issues and highlight their own concerns.

“We are global leaders in the horse racing industry, and any question around its integrity or the possibility of drug use could be extremely damaging,” Cahill added. “Breeders, jockeys, owners, and trainers are dependent on the viability of the sport in Ireland and the good name of the industry around the world. The Committee hopes that these meetings will bring clarity to the situation.”

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Egan To Retire From IHRB

Denis Egan will take early retirement from his role as chief executive of the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board. After 25 years with the regulator, he will step aside on Sept. 30.

Egan, 60, joined the Turf Club in 1995 and became CEO in 2001. When the Turf Club became the IHRB in 2018 he took on the role of CEO at the new body.

“Irish racing has an enviable reputation worldwide, both for its fairness and integrity and has enjoyed huge success at home and around the world,” said Egan. “I am proud that the Turf Club, and more recently the IHRB, has had a significant role to play in this regard. I believe we now have a strong platform in place to build and grow for the future and I believe the time is right to hand over to a successor to take the organisation to the next level.

“I would like to thank the members of the Turf Club and the Irish National Hunt Steeplechase Committee and particularly the staff of the IHRB for their professionalism and indeed their support down through the years.”

Harry McCalmont, chairman of the IHRB, said, “Denis has made a huge contribution to our organisation, and indeed to the Irish horseracing industry in general both at home and abroad. He is highly regarded throughout the world of horseracing and has served the sport well both in Ireland and internationally. Announcing his decision now allows us to identify his successor in a planned way and we will commence this process soon. While we are sorry to see him leave, we fully respect his decision and would like to wish him well for the future.”

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Bolger Not Expected To Attend Hearing

Jim Bolger is not expected to attend the parliamentary hearing he was invited to to discuss doping in Irish racing. Bolger made headlines last autumn and again this spring when describing the use of performance-enhancing substances as the “number-one problem” in Irish racing and saying “there will be a Lance Armstrong in Irish racing.”

Bolger was invited to the agriculture committee hearing alongside representatives of the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board, Horse Racing Ireland, the Department of Agriculture and the Irish Racehorse Trainers Association, but Racing Post reports that a government source has confirmed that, after seeking legal advice, Bolger will not attend the meeting.

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