Victorian trainer Luke Oliver was fined $2000 for a mare testing positive to methamphetamine after her race win. Despite Oliver not being present at the race, he was charged with presentation due to his role as trainer. The source of the contamination remains uncertain, although a staff member's urine sample is under investigation.
The last thing on trainer Luke Oliver’s mind on August 3 last year was that his horse would test positive to the recreational drug ice. Oliver was understandably preoccupied. His wife, Georgia McCartney, was two days away from delivering their first child, Hazel Joan Oliver, into the world and was going into labor. As a result, he was not on course at Flemington on what was a mild winter’s day when the stable’s mare Justdoit won the third race at the juicy odds of 12-1.
The Cranbourne trainer had arranged for his staff to take care of business, but still managed to text jockey Craig Williams pre-race to say the mare needed to win because he would soon have an “extra mouth to feed”. So Oliver was shocked when approached by Racing Victoria stewards a month later and told Justdoit’s post-race urine sample revealed traces of methamphetamine, often referred to as crystal meth or ice. Despite not being at his stables or at the track at the time of the positive swab, Oliver was charged with presentation – when a trainer’s horse tests positive to a prohibited substance at a race meeting. He fronted the Victorian Racing Tribunal last month, pleaded guilty to the charge, and was fined $2000. But the source of the contamination has yet to be solved. Racing Victorian stewards are continuing their inquiries that involve a staff member’s suspicious urine sample. Oliver initially suggested to stewards the positive could have been caused by a staff member putting a tongue tie on his horse – a lycra band that ties the horse’s tongue to the bottom jaw so that it does not get over the bit and cause breathing issues. The Victorian Racing Tribunal – consisting of judge Marilyn Harbison and magistrate Peter Reardon – heard last month that the staff member who attached the tongue tie to Justdoit and later assisted in taking it off had been a past drug user, but she denied ever using methamphetamines. The tribunal also heard that the staff member initially avoided providing stewards with a urine sample when they interviewed Oliver at his stables on September 5. “All his staff were directed to provide urine samples and did so, with the initial exception of the staff member who had previously used drugs, who left the stable knowing that the direction had been given but without giving the sample,” the tribunal wrote in its decision against Oliver. “This staff member later contacted the stewards and agreed to provide a urine sample, saying that she had been too scared to give a sample when initially asked. “However, she provided the sample in suspicious circumstances – that is, it appears likely that the urine sample which she gave at that time may have been a substitute sample and not a fresh sample. “We do not know the result of that sampling, but it is fair to say that a question mark still hangs over the prospect of involvement by this staff member in the contamination.” The tribunal found that Oliver, who trains 40 horses and employs 16 people, had no reason to suspect any of his staff were involved in drugs. “There is no evidence of him having had any concerns of this nature brought to his attention in the past,” the tribunal wrote. “It is clear, that the particular employee who we have described in these reasons for decision took suspicious steps when challenged. But the tribunal found that other employees had handled Justdoit on the day it tested positive, so the source of the contamination was not clear cut. The tribunal said it had not been provided with any scientific evidence to say a horse could be contaminated by oral ingestion via the application of a tongue tie. “Given the circumstances, this tribunal has no sure way of ascertaining how the horse came to be contaminated and can reach no conclusion as to whether any particular staff member was implicated,” the tribunal wrote. Oliver asked the tribunal not to impose a penalty against him because the investigation had affected him personally and financially as well as tarnishing his reputation. They also found that Oliver had not appeared to have “made any significant efforts to guard against drug contamination arising from his employees”. “We have decided that the appropriate sentence should be at the lower range of sentences to which we were referred,” the tribunal panel wrote in its decision
HORSE RACING DRUG CONTAMINATION VICTORIAN RACING TRIBUNAL JUSTDOIT LUKE OLIVER
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Trainer Fined After Horse Tests Positive for IceA Victorian trainer has been fined $2,000 after his horse tested positive for methamphetamine (ice) post-race. While the trainer was not present at the race meeting, he was charged with presentation, as his horse was found to have the prohibited substance in its system.
Read more »
Man Fined $300 for Using Speakerphone on TrainA man in France was fined €200 (A$329) for using his mobile phone's speakerphone while waiting for a train at Nantes station. An SNCF security official warned him to turn off the loudspeaker, and when he didn't, the man received a fine. The incident highlights the growing annoyance over public phone use without headphones.
Read more »
Santos Fined a Mere $10,000 for Devastating Oil SpillSantos, a major Australian oil and gas company, received a paltry $10,000 fine for a significant oil spill off the coast of Western Australia. Despite the devastating environmental and cultural impacts, the fine faced widespread criticism for being insufficient.
Read more »
Man Charged with Murder Fined for Drug and Drink DrivingPatrick Stephenson, 24, was fined $2500 after pleading guilty to drug and drink driving charges. He was involved in a motorcycle accident while returning from a grand final party. Stephenson is currently on remand awaiting trial for the murder of Samantha Murphy.
Read more »
Samantha Murphy's Alleged Killer Fined for Drink and Drug DrivingPatrick Orren Stephenson, 24, the man accused of murdering Ballarat mother Samantha Murphy, was fined $2,500 for drink, drug, and careless driving offences stemming from a motorbike crash in October 2023.
Read more »
Rail Strikes, Domestic Violence Funding, and Doctor Fined: News Headlines from AustraliaThis news article covers a range of recent events in Australia, including the disruption caused by rail strikes in Sydney, unspent funds allocated to combat domestic violence in the Northern Territory, and a Queensland doctor fined for corporal punishment.
Read more »