Six Victorian trainers have been charged after horses from their stables returned samples containing the prohibited substances formestane, 4-hydroxytestosterone and 6a-hydroxyandrostenedione.
The charges mark the latest development in Racing Victoria’s long-running investigation into a series of prohibited substance detections that has prompted scrutiny across multiple racing jurisdictions.
Matthew Brown, Adam Chambers, Nathan Dunn, Lee and Shannon Hope, Lloyd Kennewell and Paul Preusker have each been charged under Australian Rule of Racing 240(2), commonly referred to as a presentation charge.
The alleged breaches relate to samples collected from horses that raced at Victorian tracks between April and November 2025.
Racing Victoria said its investigation extended well beyond the original detections, with stewards examining stable environments, products and training practices before determining there was sufficient basis to lay the charges.
The governing body said that because the substances are permanently prohibited under the Australian Rules of Racing, stewards are required to apply the rules as written in order to protect the integrity of the sport.
Racing Victoria also emphasised that none of the trainers have been charged with administering a prohibited substance, either intentionally or unintentionally.
Instead, the allegations relate solely to the presentation of horses that subsequently returned positive samples. Under Australian Rule of Racing 240(2), stewards and the Victorian Racing Tribunal are not required to establish how or why the prohibited substances entered a horse’s system.
The Victorian Racing Tribunal has already fined more than half a dozen trainers this year after horses under their care returned positive samples to the same three prohibited substances.
The horses involved in the latest charges are Iluvcoffee (Lee and Shannon Hope), who raced at Benalla on April 14, 2025; Inthelapofthegods (Nathan Dunn), Mornington on May 12, 2025; Rip ‘N’ Rip (Matthew Brown), Bendigo on July 13, 2025; Major Share (Adam Chambers), Moonee Valley on October 25, 2025; Nursery Chime (Lloyd Kennewell), Mornington on September 18, 2025; and Chairman (Paul Preusker), Penshurst on November 22, 2025.
In each case, urine samples collected before or after racing were confirmed by Racing Analytical Services Limited and the Australian Racing Forensic Laboratory to contain formestane, 4-hydroxytestosterone and 6a-hydroxyandrostenedione.
