AUSSIE trainer Jarrod McLean has been disqualified for three years.
After a police investigation where syringes were found at McLean’s property, he admitted to two drug charges of being in possession of and using banned substance EPO.
McLean pleaded guilty to the charges at a Victorian Racing Tribunal on Friday.
The handler admitted to using EPO on jumps horse Cats Fun sometime between July 2009 and December 2013.
He was stood down from the training ranks in October 2019 but has now been disqualified for three years.
The judge overseeing the case said: “The administration of EPO is a particularly serious offence and can have a dramatic effect on a horse.
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“The administration of this has no purpose other than to affect performance.
“Apart from damaging the concept of a level playing field, there are associated risks to the welfare of horses and jockeys.
“There is no excuse for administration.
“The injection of it as occurs here requires a wilful act, a wilful attempt to obtain an unfair advantage without regard to risk and welfare.”
McLean was disqualified for three years on the administration charge and two years for the possession of the prohibited substance. They will be served concurrently.
The police investigation also involved former Melbourne Cup winning-trainer Darren Weir who has also since been banned.
McLean, Weir and former stable lad Tyson Kermond still face police charges and will stand trial after pleading not guilty to conspiracy charges last October.
McLean pleaded not guilty to two counts of conspiracy, one drug charge and seven alleged betting offences.
The three are accused of conspiring to cheat and defraud over an illegal training regime they allegedly used on racehorses Red Cardinal, Yogi and Tosen Basil in the weeks leading up to the 2018 Melbourne Cup.
Police allege the three men used blinkers, poly piping, whistling and electric shock devices known as ‘jiggers’ at Weir’s Warrnambool stables on October 30, 2018.
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