Philip Fenton to appeal three-year ban

Controversial trainer Philip Fenton has lodged an appeal to the Turf Club against the severity of his three year disqualification from racing.

After being found guilty on eight charges of possessing banned animal medicines, including anabolic steroids, at a district court hearing last month, Fenton was ‘warned off’ by the Turf Club on Saturday for three years.

Disqualification involves not being allowed train, ride or enter horses in races and stops a person being granted entry to a race-meeting.

At Saturday’s Turf Club hearing, the sport’s regulatory body postponed to March 1st Fenton’s full disqualification from any racing environment in order to help him wind down business commitments in an orderly fashion. However, he is banned from training horses from midnight this Friday.

It has been confirmed though that Co. Tipperary-based Fenton has decided to appeal against the length of disqualification.

“He has lodged an appeal against the severity of the sentence. No date has yet been set for that appeal,” a Turf Club spokesman said.

Fenton admitted breaching the rules of racing at Saturday’s hearing and his solicitor pleaded for a financial punishment rather than disqualification. The Turf Club’s Referrals Committee felt the severity of the offence was of sufficient gravity to hand out a three year suspension.