Cheltenham Festival-winning trainer has licence suspended until further notice

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Cheltenham Festival-winning trainer Pat Kelly has had his licence suspended, having failed to engage with an Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) referrals committee after an unannounced stable inspection that revealed several breaches of the rules.

A dual festival winner with Presenting Percy and Mall Dini, Kelly was originally handed €2,400 in fines and faced the potential suspension after IHRB officials inspected his premises in January. 

In a referrals committee hearing on June 30, the inspection team noted that two horses who were returned to Kelly's care were not identified at his training establishment and ten horses were recorded as present but were not returned in his care. 

The passports for 17 horses were not available for inspection and not subsequently made available, while his medicines register was incomplete.

Christine Traynor, the IHRB's head of racing regulation and integrity, told the panel the Galway trainer had failed to engage with or reply to several attempts at correspondence from the regulator following the inspection. Kelly was not in attendance at the hearing.

As well as the imposition of fines totalling €2,400, it was ordered that Kelly's training licence be suspended seven days after the hearing, unless he satisfactorily engaged with the IHRB before that date.

Presenting Percy: won the Pertemps Final and RSA Novices' Chase at Cheltenham for Pat KellyCredit: Patrick McCann

The panel reconvened on Tuesday and Dr Lesley Ferguson provided details of another unannounced inspection at Kelly's yard on July 2, outlining the engagement with the trainer, including the provision of photographs of passports. However, she confirmed there were still issues regarding the management of the training premises.

The referrals committee determined that the condition of satisfying engagement with the IHRB, attached to its earlier decision, had not been fulfilled and ruled that the suspension of Kelly's licence would take effect immediately and until further order from the committee.

It emphasised that "engagement with the IHRB is a fundamental obligation of every licensed trainer and that compliance with the rules of racing requires ongoing cooperation with the IHRB's regulatory processes", and "noted the continuing regulatory concerns arising in this matter".

Kelly can apply to have his suspension reviewed, but the committee will need to be satisfied that he has fully engaged with the IHRB, has complied with his obligations under the rules of racing, has provided accurate and up-to-date contact information to the IHRB and that the regulatory concerns which gave rise to the suspension have been satisfactorily addressed or are demonstrably in the course of being remedied. 

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