Darren Weir will begin a two-year disqualification over the use of jiggers on September 9, while the penalties of employees Jarrod McLean and Tyson Kermond over the same incidents have been halved on review by the Victorian Racing Tribunal.
Weir pleaded guilty to seven charges related to the incident in 2018 and was given a two-year disqualification at a hearing chaired by Judge Bowman on July 5.
The disqualification means that Weir will be required to cease his pre-training business at Trevenson Park, which he has operated since an initial disqualification over the possession of jiggers expired in February 2023.
It was submitted that Weir would need at least seven days’ notice to either depart the property or to have thoroughbreds leave the facility, and after some debate, the details of the commencement date were finalised.
Weir could reapply for his licence on September 9, 2026. That would need to go before the Racing Victoria board.
There is still no clarity over the commencement dates of the disqualifications for McLean and Kermond.
That pair’s legal counsel, Damian Sheales, had successfully argued that a suspension, which applied from October 11, 2019 until the conclusion of the criminal case against the pair in December 2022, should be considered.
Judge Bowman and his panel determined that while suspension and disqualification were not equal, an error had been made in determining the initial penalty.
As a result, McLean’s disqualification was halved from 18 months to nine months and Kermond’s from six months to three months.
Bren O’Brien
The commencement of those suspension dates has also not been resolved, with Sheales arguing that the time should apply from when the current charges were first made.
That would be September 2023, meaning that both men would be free to re-apply for their licences immediately.
Judge Bowman said he would take further submissions on that and would look to resolve the questions surrounding commencement dates on Tuesday at 10:30am.
That would be 2045 days after police first raided Weir’s stables on January 29, 2019.
