KZN trainer fined R18K for use of caffeine

The National Horseracing Author­ity confirms that at an Inquiry held at its Durban office on 30 Jan­uary 2017 Trainer L G Denysschen was charged with the following:

1. A contravention of Rule 73.2.4 in that he was the trainer of PURE VALOR, from which a urine specimen was taken after it had participated in and won the 4th Race at Greyville Racecourse on 21 September 2016, disclosed upon analysis the presence of Caf­feine, a prohibited substance in terms of the Rules of The National Horseracing Authority.
2. A contravention of Rule 73.2.4 in that he was the trainer of FOR EVER, from which a plas­ma specimen was taken after it had participated in and won the 8th Race at Greyville Racecourse on 23 September 2016, disclosed upon analysis the presence of Caf­feine, a prohibited substance in terms of the Rules of The National Horseracing Authority.
3. A contravention of Rule 73.2.4 in that he was the trainer of FOR EVER, from which a urine specimen was taken after it had participated in and won the 7th Race at Greyville Racecourse on 14 October 2016, disclosed upon analysis the presence of Caf­feine, a prohibited substance in terms of the Rules of The National Horseracing Authority.
4. A contravention of Rule 73.2.3 in that he was the trainer of FASHION FUSION, from which a blood specimen was taken from the horse prior to the run­ning of the 5th Race at Greyville Racecourse on 19 October 2016, disclosed upon analysis the pres­ence of Caffeine, a prohibited sub­stance in terms of the Rules of The National Horseracing Authority.
5. A contravention of Rule 73.2.4 in that he was the trainer of PRINCIPATE from which a urine specimen was taken after it had participated in and won the 8th Race at Greyville Racecourse on 28 October 2016, disclosed upon analysis the presence of Caf­feine, a prohibited substance in terms of the Rules of The National Horseracing Authority.

Mr Denysschen pleaded not guilty but was found guilty of the above charges.

In considering a sentence, the Inquiry Board took into account the evidence advanced, both in mitigation and aggravation of sen­tence and in particular:-

– the fact that Mr Denysschen had five separate findings in re­spect of a prohibited substance namely, Caffeine, within a period of five weeks.

– this is a second offence for the same prohibited substance.

– the prohibited substance Caaffeine is a performance en­hancing drug.

– the racing public is directly prejudiced by this type of conduct and The NHA is obliged to protect racing in South Africa. Five sepa­rate findings in respect of pro­hibited substance has a severely negative impact on the image of racing.

The Inquiry Board imposed a fine of R180,000. In terms of Rule 72.3.2, each horse, namely PURE VALOR, FOR EVER, FASHION FU­SION and PRINCIPATE, is disqual­ified from the abovementioned races they participated in and in respect of which the provisions of Rule 67.7.8 shall apply. – NHA