Greyhound Racing NSW (GRNSW) stewards have finalised deliberations on penalty following analysts' reports of the finding of ibuprofen in the urine sample taken from I’m Doreen Trick after that greyhound won Race 1, the Red Dog Landscaping Maiden Stake, 420 metres, run at the Tweed Heads meeting on 26 October 2013.
Consistent with the protocols established for dealing with such reports under the GRNSW Prohibited Substance Penalty System, trainer Dwayne Townsend was advised of the reports received from the Australian Racing Forensic Laboratory and Racing Science Centre, QLD, via written notification of the laboratory findings.
Mr Townsend advised GRNSW of the possibility of the reports having occurred due to the inadvertant administration of a brufen tablet, a prescribed human preparation containing ibuprofen, kept within the vicinity of the food preparation area in his kennels.
Following initial correspondence, Mr Townsend pleaded guilty to a charge under Gar 83 (2) (a) of having presented I’m Doreen Trick for the event other than free of any prohibited substance in that the urine sample taken from the greyhound after the event was found to contain ibuprofen.
After GRNSW had considered submissions from Mr Townsend on penalty, he was advised of the imposition of a period of suspension of 14 weeks, commencing on 10 March 2014 and expiring at midnight on 9 June 2014.
In considering penalty, stewards took into account such factors as Mr Townsend’s record of having no rule breach in a relatively short period of registration as a trainer, a lack of evidence of any support for the greyhound on the day, the nature of the substance involved, the reported comparative high level of the substance, previous penalties for such substance presentation, his guilty plea and cooperation with GRNSW in determining the possible source of the reports.
Notwithstanding those factors, the requirement for a penalty to be imposed in circumstances where a measure of negligence had been identified as a possible factor in the reports had also to be considered.
Under Gar 83 (4), I’m Doreen Trick was disqualified from the event in question and the placings amended accordingly.
