Patrick Payne, a Group 1-winning trainer, has been charged by Racing Victoria (RV) stewards after presenting a horse to the races twice in mid-2024 with prohibited substances in its system. On Monday, RV confirmed that four charges have been laid against Payne, who will now face the Victorian Racing Tribunal.
The charges relate to Payne-trained gelding Hard To Cross, who won two races in May last year. RV’s laboratory analysis revealed that the horse’s urine samples contained Formestane, a steroidal aromatase inhibitor, and its metabolite 4-Hydroxytestosterone, classified as an anabolic steroid. Both substances are prohibited under the Australian Rules of Racing. The samples also contained 6a-Hydroxyandrost-4-Ene-3,17-Dione, a metabolite of a steroidal aromatase inhibitor, which is also banned.
When first informed of the irregularities in December, Payne expressed his shock and confusion. “It’s a bit of a shock. We are anti-drugs in racing,” Payne told Racing.com. “At the start, you are very suspicious of your staff members, feed, and all that sort of stuff. But after that, you settle down. RV have been very good about it. We will work very closely with them to try and work out where the contamination has come from. I have no idea whatsoever (where it has come from).”
In the same report released on Monday, RV stewards also confirmed that trainer John Pearson has been notified of irregularities in a swab taken from his horse Minesite after it ran unplaced in a race at Benalla last November. The post-race urine sample contained cobalt levels exceeding the threshold allowed under the national rules of racing. No charges have been laid against Pearson, with stewards stating that investigations are ongoing.
