Report from the VWC on the Zoom Hearings held on behalf of the
IHRA.
24th September 2020
The Hearing Panel consisted of Dr Marcus Swail DVM, Chairman of the Panel, Liam Delaney, VWC Independent Member and David Sheehy, SNR. Steward VWC. Peter Clarke Snr. Stewart to sit on the McCarthy case was unavailable at the time of the Zoom Hearing and was replaced by David Sheehy Snr Steward for Mr McCarthy’s Hearing. James Levis Snr. Steward and James O’Sullivan Snr. Steward were both conflicted in the McCarthy case and were both unavailable for the other four cases.
Mr McCarthy. Owner of the Horse “Let’s Party”
Further to the Veterinary and Welfare Commission hearing on 09/09/20 regarding the detail of Mr McCarthy’s refusal to allow sampling of the horse “Lets Party” at the meeting in Lyre, Cork on 16/08/20, the following penalties are to be applied:
A ban of 6 months from Mr McCarthy being permitted to train any horse racing under IHRA rules.
A ban of 6 months for the horse ‘Let’s Party’.
A fine of €500.
The ban from training runs from the date of the hearing, 09/09/20 and expires on the 09/03/21.
The horse must also be re-tested by a VWC Veterinary Officer at Mr McCarthy’s expense and return a negative result prior to being permitted to race at the discretion of the IHRA Board.
In coming to the above decision, the panel noted the serious nature of the rule breach, but also took into account the fact that Mr McCarthy dealt with the aftermath in a straightforward and honest fashion.
