Luke Comer Jnr can continue to train after an Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board panel accepted his appeal against the severity of a 12-month licence suspension, opting to cut his penalty to three months and suspending it for a year.
Comer, son of the billionaire businessman of the same name, lost his restricted licence to train in September for causing reputational damage to the sport.
That came following the discovery of decomposed horse carcasses on his property near Summerhill, Co Meath, in 2021 by Department of Agriculture Food & Marine officials.
The matter went to court in March of this year when Comer Jnr said he knew nothing of the matter and co-operated fully with officials. He escaped conviction and donated €20,000 to the Irish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals with the charges struck out.
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Subsequently, an IHRB referrals panel outlined how the public response to the discovery was “intense and critical” and concluded that public confidence in horse welfare standards within the industry had been undermined by the case.
Comer’s appeal against the severity of the penalty was heard last month and on Tuesday it was confirmed that an appeals panel chaired by Justice Peter Kelly has dismissed the 12-month penalty.
A statement said: “We are satisfied that there was an error in principle made by the referrals committee in fixing the penalty since it took into account wrongdoing which had been neither alleged nor supported with evidence.
“We therefore allow the appeal and set aside that part of the decision of the Referrals Committee. The breach of Rule 272(i) by Mr Comer is substantially less serious than that found by the Referrals Committee.”
It opted to withdraw Comer’s licence for three months, starting next month, and fined him €15,000.
However, it also said the licence suspension will be suspended in full if that fine is paid before December 1st and if he isn’t found guilty of any rule breaches for a period of 12 months from that date.
In July, Luke Comer Snr began a three-year suspension of his training licence after a dozen horses at his stables near Kilternan, Co Dublin tested positive for anabolic steroids.
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