Luke Comer's appeal against three-year ban after major doping scandal is dismissed

Billionaire businessman and trainer Luke Comer has had his appeal against the decision to suspend his licence for three years after a dozen of his horses tested positive for anabolic steroids dismissed by the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board's (IHRB) appeals body.

Comer’s suspension will come into effect on July 15 following the biggest doping scandal in the history of Irish racing.

In September last year, Comer, who is a major sponsor in the sport, had his licence suspended and was ordered to pay €840,754 (£711,538) in fines and costs after traces of methandienone (MD) and methyltestosterone (MT) were found in 12 of his horses. They included He Knows No Fear, who became the longest-priced winner in Ireland or Britain when landing a Leopardstown maiden at 300-1 in 2020.

Both Comer and the IHRB were unsatisfied with the findings of last year's referrals committee hearing. The regulator appealed against the decision on the grounds of undue leniency, while Comer appealed against the findings and penalties for multiple breaches of the rules on adverse analytical findings, bringing the sport into disrepute and supplying misleading information.

Comer's appeal against prejudicial conduct was dismissed but the finding and the €20,000 fine were set aside, while his appeal in respect of supplying misleading information in his witness statement was allowed and the €5,000 penalty set aside. The IHRB's appeal in respect of undue leniency of the penalty was dismissed. 

The appeals body, chaired by Justice Peter Kelly, deliberated over 38 grounds for appeal from Comer. It dismissed any issue of inadequate supervision and security at Comer's training establishment, but concluded the referrals committee were entitled to hold that the use of hair as a sole matrix for testing horses for prohibited substances was appropriate despite Comer arguing the findings were unreliable.

Comer's case largely hinged on the suggestion of environmental contamination through pig slurry. His testimony was that the 'good hay' was kept for the best horses and he instructed his assistant trainer James Gorman and his staff in that regard.

However, the appeals body upheld the referral committee's decision, referencing that some horses who were fed the ‘good hay’ tested positive for steroids while others did not.

Comer also suggested an infected hay ingestion theory and sought the services of JHG Analytical Services Limited, an independent chemistry and microbiology testing facility based in Waterford, which produced a report that was denounced by experts commissioned by the IHRB. The referrals committee found it could not place reliance on the JHG report and the appeals body held that it was entitled to favour the scientific evidence called by the IHRB.

The appeal body also shared concern with the referral committee regarding Monaco-based Comer's absence from the country for nine months of the year and questioned whether a trainer should be granted a licence in such circumstances.

In respect of costs, the appeal panel stated of Comer, who has insisted he will go to whatever lengths necessary to defend his reputation: "The areas where he was successful took up only a small part of the time of the appeal. A generous allowance in that regard would be 15 per cent.

"He also defeated the appeal of the IHRB on leniency. But that took up a minuscule amount of time and even if he were awarded his costs in respect of that, it would be a bagatelle in the overall context.

"In all the circumstances we are provisionally of the view that the justice of the case is met by directing Mr Comer to pay 75 per cent of the costs of the appeal to the IHRB."

Read these next:

Billionaire businessman v IHRB - appeal into Luke Comer doping scandal set to begin on Wednesday morning 

Huge doping scandal hits Ireland as billionaire businessman Luke Comer banned for three years and hit with fines and costs of €840,754 

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