One of the most prominent trainers in the country has backed drug testing procedures carried out by the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board.
Michael Halford is chairman of the Irish Racehorse Trainers Association (IHRB) but stressed he was speaking on a personal capacity when he said there is “no evidence” to suggest doping is taking place.
He was speaking on Monday after comments by the ex-trainer Stephen Mahon in a Sunday newspaper.
Mahon, who is serving a 3½ year licence suspension for breaches of animal welfare rules, told the Sunday Independent how in 2020 he had supplied the IHRB’s head of anti-doping, Dr Lynn Hillyer, with details of an unnamed trainer using injectable testosterone in horses.
The report also indicated Mahon is the source of information that prompted Jim Bolger’s declarations about drugs being Irish racing’s No. 1 problem.
Bolger has predicted a Lance Armstrong figure will emerge in the sport and that he has no faith in the IHRB’s drug testing. Those explosive …
- February 22, 2022
