Four year ban for Weir over shock devices

MELBOURNE Cup-winning Australian trainer Darren Weir on Wednesday was banned for four years from horse racing in Victoria state for possessing electronic devices used to shock horses into running faster. Weir, who trained 2015 Cup winner Prince of Penzance, was handed the ban following dramatic police raids on several rural properties last week. “Mr Weir will not be permitted to participate in the racing industry in any way over the four-year period,” Racing Victoria executive general manager Jamie Stier said in a statement. The ban includes training horses, attending race meetings and “deriving any benefit from the industry”, Stier added. Weir did not contest three charges of possessing the Taser-like “jiggers”, which are used to prompt a horse to perform better on the track.