The Australian Racing Board (ARB) will at its March meeting consider the approval of a second racing laboratory to conduct arsenic testing following the outcome of a Racing Victoria (RV) stewards’ investigation.
The RV integrity sub-committee announced on Monday that it would not pursue the trainer whose winner returned an irregularity to arsenic on Manikato Stakes night at Moonee Valley in September last year.
Australian racing rules require that two official racing laboratories detect the presence of a prohibited substance.
Of the racing laboratories approved by the ARB, only the Hong Kong Jockey Club tests for the illegal substance.
The RV integrity sub-committee considered a report from stewards and determined there were insufficient grounds to proceed with the matter and the prospect of a successful prosecution was unlikely.
“The irregularity was detected during the standard screening process of 70 swab samples sent to the Hong Kong Jockey Club Laboratory to test for the prohibited substance ITPP,” Dayle Brown, Racing Victoria general manager of integrity, said.
“Standard practice requires that the reserve sample is analysed by a second laboratory to confirm the irregularity and provide stewards with the grounds to make an informed decision on whether they pursue the matter under the Rules of Racing.
“Our investigation established that there is not a second laboratory approved by the Australian Racing Board that is capable of conducting quantitative testing for arsenic and for this reason we have not pursued charges under the Rules of Racing.”
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