For the second time this week the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) has suspended a trainer. On Friday it was confirmed by the regulator that Gearoid Brouder had his licence withdrawn for a year, although a suspension of the last half of the ban means he can reapply for it in March.
Earlier this week it emerged that Co Down trainer Lee Smyth was suspended for three months after admitting that flu vaccinations on the passports of two horses in his care in 2018 were forged.
Brouder (27) appeared before an IHRB referrals panel on Tuesday due to having moved his training operation and horses from a licensed premises in Dunlavin, Co Wicklow, to an unlicensed premises near Naas during August.
In evidence the IHRB authorised officer Colleen Murphy said she inspected the Dunlavin yard in late September and found it empty. Advised that Brouder had moved, the IHRB team went to the new premises and confirmed the horses were there. At that time the IHRB licensing committee suspended Brouder’s licence and referred the matter to the referrals committee for consideration.
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In his evidence Brouder outlined the reasons behind his change of yard and blamed an “administrative error” for the failure to give the IHRB the necessary paperwork for changing licensed yards. He apologised for the oversight.
The panel, chaired by Laurance McFerran, concluded Brouder had broken a series of rules including how trainers can only train from establishments inspected and approved by the IHRB. They also decided he “acted in a manner which was prejudicial to the integrity, proper conduct or good reputation of horseracing” and that he “supplied misleading or false information to a racing official”.
They imposed a 12-month suspension backdated to when the licensing committee suspended Brouder’s licence on September 29th.
They also underlined that should a licence be granted to Brouder in March, any breaches within a 12-month period from the date of granting would cause the suspended portion of the withdrawal to be activated.
