Reprieve for banned trainer

MORNINGTON t rainer Mark Riley has been granted another stay of proceedings that will allow him to continue training until March 26 when his appeal against a three-year disqualification for a bicarb offence will be heard.

Riley’s legal team will argue over how the bicarb levels were recorded after the A sample exceeded the threshold and the B sample was slightly under the legal level.

The stay was granted by VCAT despite vigorous opposition by Racing Victoria’s legal counsel James Ogilvy, who argued a further stay of proceedings would affect the image of racing by allowing Riley to train and win races.

“He won a race yesterday (at Benalla) and the message it sends is not good in the circumstances,” Ogilvy told the tribunal.

“We have to give a lot of weight to the image and the public interests weigh against his personal interests.”

Last week Riley was granted a stay of proceedings that allowed him to train until yes- terday so he could he race Of The Brave, which ran unplaced in Saturday’s Group 1 Blue Diamond.

Riley told the tribunal it would be difficult, if not impossible, to rebuild his business and get horses back from other trainers if he could not continue to train until the appeal was heard.

After a two-year disqualification in 2001, Riley said it had taken him 14 years to again become a successful trainer.

“You become a forgotten member of racing and it’s been difficult to get back on board,” he said.

“I only have one or two people who came back to me and I had to build a whole new business.”

Riley said a failure to allow him a stay of proceedings would not only affect his “innocent owners” but his staff who would unfairly lose their jobs.

VCAT deputy president Heather Lambrick set the appeal for March 26.

Ms Lambrick said she accepted that the Riley horses and staff and would be disadvantaged and unnecessary expenses incurred if the stay was not granted.

While she acknowledged the seriousness of the charge, Ms Lambrick did not accept there was an unacceptable risk to the integrity of racing because the public knew of legal processes that can be followed.

Riley pleaded guilty to the Racing Appeals and Disciplinary Board for presenting galloper Gold For Kev at the races last July with an elevated TCO2 (bicarbonate) reading but denied he was involved in administering the prohibited substance.

The horse finished 11th in the Schweppes Handicap at Sandown on July 13.