A flurry of controversies and reports surround the greyhound board. Has it the stamina to see off its critics, asks Barry O'Halloran
The recent sacking of the State greyhound racing board's chief executive and revelations about the doping of two dogs are splitting the industry and damaging the reputation of an increasingly popular sport.
Board chairman Paschal Taggart has been at the centre of this week's storm, but the row involves more than just him.
The controversy began a week ago when it emerged that, at a hearing last November, the greyhound board's control committee (its disciplinary body) fined two trainers, Paul Hennessy and John Kiely, €1,000 each and confiscated prize money, because their dogs tested positive for the drug Erythropoietin (EPO) after two races in Dublin last summer.
The greyhound board (Bord na gCon) has banned EPO because it is a performance-enhancing substance. Put simply, it makes dogs run faster, a nice edge in a sport where last year punters wagered about €90 million with dog track bookies.
A sport involving gambling has to be transparent, and to be willing to punish anyone who breaks the rules. Although Bord na gCon is not obliged to do so, its policy is to publish details in two trade papers of hearings where trainers or owners have been found to be doping their dogs. But the control committee decided not to publish details of the November hearing, on the grounds that it was not in the greyhound industry's interests. The reasoning was that this was the first time it had recorded positive tests for EPO, for which it began testing last year (it was the first greyhound body in the world to test for the substance). Instead, the board decided to advertise in the two trade papers, the Sporting Press and Irish Greyhound Weekly, saying it had begun testing for the substance, and warning that dire consequences would follow for trainers if dogs tested positive.
The minutes of the control committee meeting show that Taggart asked the then chief executive, Aidan Tynan, if he agreed with this. Tynan warned that not publishing details of cases involving "serious prohibited substances" could leave the board exposed. He said it would be better in the long run to stick to board policy and make details of the hearings public.
THEN, JUST OVER a week ago it emerged Tynan had written to Minister for Sport John O'Donoghue on January 18th, telling him of the decision not to publish details of November's control committee meeting and warning that it had implications for the sport's integrity. The Minister contacted Taggart seeking an explanation.
Subsequently, at last week's board meeting, the members decided unanimously to dismiss Tynan.
However, on January 19th, a week before the board meeting at which he was sacked, Tynan wrote to Taggart telling him that he was beginning grievance procedures against the board via its internal mechanism for dealing with such issues.
That letter makes clear that relations between Tynan and Taggart and the board had been going downhill for at least three months. From the minutes of various board meetings, which are included in a report on the controversy supplied by Taggart to the Minister earlier this week, money appears to have been at the root of many of their differences. The report deals with the drugs issue and with Tynan's sacking.
Bord na gCon's State funding is linked to returns from betting tax; in 2004, it got €13.3 million from the Exchequer, compared with €18 million three years earlier. However, it also has to raise cash from its own operations.
The chairman and some members of the board were concerned that cash flow was falling short of its projected €5 million target for 2005. Running costs at some tracks were over budget and they were losing money.
Tynan pointed out that, in response to greyhound owners' demands, management staged extra meetings, which incurred extra costs. He was confident of making savings in the board's €40 million refurbishment schemes for its tracks.
There was also a dispute over renovation plans for Shelbourne Park in Dublin. Tynan sought tenders without board approval, a move that could have resulted in a €250,000 bill for work done by consultants. The former chief executive maintained he did not know he needed approval to take these steps, and had gone ahead with them on the basis that it was a priority.
Since the Minister received Taggart's report he has appointed former Department of Justice secretary general Tim Dalton to carry out an independent review of both disputes.
THAT MAY NOT be the only independent scrutiny of the affair. This week, the Irish Veterinary Council confirmed it was looking at the possibility of investigating vets who supplied the EPO found in the dogs. The council, which regulates vets, was recently given powers allowing it to investigate members for possible malpractice.
According to UCD professor of veterinary pharmacology, Dr Tom Barragry, whose advice the council sought this week, EPO is not licensed for veterinary use in the Republic or in any European country. He says it has yet to be established if it has any use as a medical or therapeutic treatment for any animal. He adds that most bodies that regulate greyhound and horse racing have banned the substance.
Both Hennessy and Kiely told the control committee the drug was used to treat low blood counts in their dogs. In Hennessy's case, his vet administered EPO to his dog, Barefoot Jenny, when he found she was suffering from this problem. The vet advised Hennessy not to run her for a few weeks, but the trainer ignored this and sent her to Shelbourne Park four days later, where she tested positive. Kiely gave his dog, Westmead Rumble, the drug after it was diagnosed with the same condition. He obtained EPO from a vet for €100 for each 1ml injection. Kiely admitted to using it several times.
It seems Bord na gCon was aware trainers were doing this. Control committee member Frank O'Connell said at last week's board meeting that he believed some trainers were using EPO to treat dogs with low blood counts or with kidney problems. However, he added they were doing this without realising the consequences.
EPO boosts red blood cell count and is used in some medical treatments in humans. For example, it is given to patients on dialysis. But it has been associated with a number of drug scandals in sport since the late 1990s. In one case, Will Voet, an official with the Festina team in the 1998 Tour de France, was caught with a huge cache of doping materials, which featured EPO. He and others involved later wrote books about drugs and cycling.
The week's revelations have led to calls for the removal of Taggart and the entire board, something that O'Donoghue is unlikely to do - at least until Dalton provides him with an impartial view of events. Taggart, who has been credited with taking a sport that was on its knees and making it one of the most popular leisure activities in the country, has said that he is not going anywhere.