Irish trainer John ‘Shark’ Hanlon has had his 10-month suspension for transporting a dead horse in public view in an open trailer cut to six months, with the possibility of it being further reduced to three months.
The Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board’s disciplinary panel imposed the penalties in September on last year’s King George VI Chase winning trainer after finding he had “caused significant prejudice to the integrity, proper conduct and good reputation of the sport of racing”.
The dead horse was carried on a trailer towed by Hanlon’s branded horsebox, with the body left on display to the public after a tarpaulin became displaced during the journey.
A member of the public videoed the incident and it was widely circulated on social media.
Hanlon appealed the severity of the sanction, due to begin on 1 December, having been unsuccessful in attempting to delay the beginning of the sanction to give him time to prepare a legal case and make specific business arrangements.
The trainer claimed the length of the ban failed to take into account previous cases when 12-month suspensions were handed out to trainer Gordon Elliott and jockey Rob James over disrespect to deceased horses.
“In their cases, the lack of respect demonstrated to the carcass of the deceased animal in each case was deliberate and wilful. Mr Hanlon’s was not,” ruled the appeals panel.
“He was negligent albeit to a high degree. We do not think that the reduction of the headline penalty from one of 12 months withdrawal of licence to 10 months adequately addresses that major difference.
“It also has to be borne in mind that the negligence of Mr Hanlon occurred in a single activity of relatively short duration.”
Hanlon’s licence to train will be withdrawn for a period of six months from 1 December and the referrals committee may consider an application to conditionally suspend the last three months of the six-month withdrawal sanction.