Luke Comer indicates he will appeal against three-year ban for positive steroid tests

Billionaire businessman Luke Comer has claimed to have already spent €1.4 million fighting Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) charges that last week culminated in him being banned from training for three years after 12 of his horses tested positive for anabolic steroids.

The cost is likely to only increase after Comer indicated he will appeal the decision that also saw him pick up fines totalling €85,000 with legal costs to the IHRB of more than €750,000.

In the most extensive drugs scandal in Irish racing history, a dozen of the Monaco-based businessman’s horses tested positive for the steroids methandienone and methyltestosterone after the IHRB carried out unannounced testing at Comer’s stables in Kiltiernan in 2021.

Comer denied wrongdoing by either himself or his staff during a nine-day hearing in May, details of which were published last Thursday. An IHRB referrals committee panel failed to establish how the substances got into the horses and found there was no evidence of deliberate doping.

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However, as the licence holder, Comer was held responsible, despite telling the panel he spends just three months of the year in Ireland.

The man who co-founded the Comer Group, one of Europe’s biggest property firms, told the Sunday Independent he is “entirely innocent” and will appeal. Any appeal will have to be lodged by Wednesday. His ban is due to start on January 1st. Considering the unprecedented scale of the rule breaches, and Comer’s reported wealth, there has been some criticism of the relative leniency of the penalties imposed.

Earlier this year Co Armagh-based permit holder Ronan McNally received a record 12-year disqualification after a lengthy IHRB investigation into the improvement in the form of some of his horses at the centre of high-profile gambles.

Former Godolphin trainer Mahmood Al Zarooni was banned for eight years by the British racing authorities in 2013 after admitting to giving anabolic steroids to 15 horses.

After stressing the independent nature of the referrals committee headed by Mr Justice Brian McGovern, IHRB chief executive Darragh O’Loughlin said on Sunday that direct administration had not been demonstrated in the Comer case.

Given the likelihood of an appeal, it’s a case that could proceed for some time yet and that may mean the January 1st start to Comer’s ban being deferred. The nature of any appeal, whether it is against the severity of the penalties, or the entire judgement, remains to be seen and could determine the length of time it takes to proceed.

“I did not ever under any circumstances administer anything to our horses, only good food and vitamins and minerals and necessary medications if they are sick. I will not stand for any kind of injustice. I will use whatever resources I have to make sure that whoever does any damage to my reputation will pay. I am one thousand per cent innocent. I have never been more right in my life,” Comer was quoted as saying.

“These 12 horses were all the best horses we had — all capable of winning. Some did win and tested negative on blood and urine afterwards. These horses all ran for the previous 12 months prior to the testing. Why would anyone in their right mind give something to horses that are running every couple of weeks? I spend €10 million a year on horses, breeding, training —everything — and I spent €8 million on sports sponsorships in Ireland in the last five years.

“I get back about €200,000 from horses. I am not in the game for money. I don’t train horses for anybody else. I train them for myself. Do you think I would take the bread out of small trainers’ mouths? I don’t want to win small races — full stop. I don’t care. If a horse ran well, I would rather the money would go to a smaller trainer whose livelihood depended on it,” he added.

The positive test results came from hair samples taken by the IHRB. The first was taken from the Comer-trained He Knows No Fear after it finished fourth in the Trigo Stakes at Leopardstown in October of 2021. It prompted out-of-competition testing at Comer’s yard a few weeks later.

Comer called on several veterinary and pharmacology experts during May’s hearing and questioned the reliability of hair-testing. He suggested environmental contamination, possibly from pig slurry, as a potential source of the drugs. The referrals panel described that as speculation.

The IHRB has employed hair testing in its anti-doping strategy since 2016. Darragh O’Loughlin has said its validity has not been previously questioned and insisted there shouldn’t be such questions in future.

A pair of Comer-owned and trained runners, Path To The Moon and Force Of The Moon, were unfinished and unplaced in maiden hurdles when running at Navan on Saturday.