Press Release:
Harness racing trainer Don Burrows has been fined $9,000 for producing a horse to race when not free of a prohibited substance (Kavain).
The horse in question was Lightworkofit who won at Addington on the 2nd and 23rd of February 2018 but has since been disqualified from both races.
Burrows accepted that he has committed a breach of the Prohibited Substance Rule and that it was a serious matter. He was shocked when informed that Lightworkofit had tested positive to Kavain (Kava). He had not heard of it and it was not a substance he would feed to his horses.
Kavain is the main kavalactone found mostly in the roots of the kava plant. The roots of the plant are used to produce a drink with sedative, anesthetic, euphoriant, and entheogenic properties.
The Committee was satisfied that a fine of $9,000 is an appropriate penalty in this case. They believed that such a penalty will satisfy the principal requirements of sentencing – that is to say, to punish the offender, to deter the offender and others in the industry and the need to maintain integrity and public confidence in harness racing.
