THE Turf Club is planning upwards of 140 random stable inspections next year plus the introduction of horsehair testing and a confidential telephone line in a bid to rid Irish racing of illegal drugs.

Last Saturday the Turf Club’s Referrals Committee imposed disqualifications on trainer Philip Fenton and retired veterinary surgeon John Hughes, both of whom admitted possession of anabolic steroids. Fenton is appealing the severity of his three-year ban, a case which will be heard on Tuesday, December 16th. The Appeals Committee will have the option of increasing the penalty as well as reducing it.

Hughes did not attend last Saturday’s session where he was warned off for five years and penalised €4,500 by the Referrals Committee. He pleaded guilty in court to possessing what the Turf Club described as “commercial quantities” of the anabolic steroid Nitrotain but the Turf Club says it has no hard evidence of who in racing, if anyone, these drugs were being supplied to.

Pat Hughes, brother of John and a licensed trainer, is appealing a court decision over steroid possession and the Turf Club is awaiting the outcome of that case.

Asked if there are more cases in the pipeline, Turf Club chief executive Denis Egan said: “The three cases we are dealing with now go back to 2012 and there is nothing we know of since then. The Department of Agriculture has brought nothing to our attention and we are working very closely with them, so the problem may not be as bad as people are speculating.”

Next year the Turf Club brings in new rules which will allow them to test horses out of competition though they have not been granted any new powers to search premises. “We will continue to work closely with the Department, that is very important,” said Egan.

He continued: “We have carried out in the region of 140 inspections in the past year, inclusive of about 35 joint inspections with the Department. We haven’t come across any steroids.

“We will be doing at least as many inspections next year and will be introducing hair testing. We will also be introducing a new confidential reporting line and will pay a reward for information leading to a conviction for possession of any substance that is prohibited at all times. We will also be bringing in new rules dealing with possession of such substances.”

Egan acknowledged that the quantities of steroids in these cases has alarmed the racing public. He said: “As with the importation of any illegal substances into the country we don’t know the levels that are being brought in but we do not have any indication that the quantities are significant. At this stage the message is out there that if the substances are being used there is now a real chance that you will be caught.

“I would also stress that we must get the financial resources we require to fight this problem and we must be able to deploy those resources as we see fit. We must have the support of everyone in the industry. If someone has information there is an onus on that person to tell us and we will act on it.” The Turf Club published the reasoning behind the Fenton verdict this week and described the trainer as having been “less than truthful and uncooperative”.

The report said that “while Mr Fenton accepted responsibility for the possession of these substances, he provided little, if any, meaningful cooperation on the circumstances in which the remedies were found in his yard including their origin” and Fenton was “less than forthcoming” in discussions about how he came to be in possession of the drugs.

The full transcript of the Turf Club’s reasoning in the Philip Fenton case can be read on theirishfield.ie website