Blood tests end Interdoms campaign

An oversight from top trainer Tim Butt has ended his Inter Dominion pacing assault. And cost him A$1000.

Butt had his two pacers Let It Ride and Italian Delight withdrawn from their heats at Ballarat tonight and therefore the remainder of the series after he took blood off them yesterday for a routine test.

Harness Racing Victoria rules forbid horses being injected 24 hours before raceday, so stewards had little option but to scratch the pair.

The irony is Butt, who until last year trained with great success in Canterbury, told the stewards he had broken the rule.

“They rang me to ask how the horses were and I told them I had just taken a blood to have it tested to make sure they were fine,” said Butt.

“Then they told me I can’t do that and it dawned on me, no injections the day before the races, even if it is extracting rather than putting anything into the horses.

“It is totally my mistake. I guess in the back of my mind, I knew the rule, but I honestly didn’t think about it. So I will have to cop that and apologise to the owners.”

Stewards accepted there was nothing sinister in Butt’s actions and fined him A$1000.

The pair join local star Shadow Sax in being withdrawn from the series and leave the Kiwi pacing trio of Cruz Bromac, Spankem and I’m Pats Delight as three of maybe only six serious winning chances left for the A$500,000 final on Saturday week.