Ronan McNally disqualification appeal dismissed but length dropped to eight years

Trainer Ronan McNally's appeal against his disqualification from racing for integrity breaches has been dismissed, but the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) appeals body has suspended the last four years of his 12-year sanction and he may yet be permitted to work in racing due to imminent rule changes.

The appeals panel convened last month to consider McNally's appeal against the sanctions handed to the restricted trainer in late January by the referrals committee. It dismissed McNally's appeal against the findings of the committee, which were wide-ranging and included using the racecourse as a training ground by running horses insufficiently schooled in order to obtain handicap marks not reflective of their ability.

However, the panel did modify the length of McNally's disqualification, suspending the final four years of the 12-year sanction for 12 years. It remains the longest ban handed out to an Irish licence-holder, but in its report the panel, which was chaired by Justice Peter Kelly, outlined pending changes to the rules covering disqualified individuals that will permit access to public areas at racecourses and allow them to apply to be employed within the industry.

As it stands, licensed individuals who get 'warned off' are not allowed to access any premises that is licensed by the IHRB, and the appeals panel notes that such a sanction will preclude McNally from attending race meetings if his son Tubs progresses to an apprenticeship, the teenager having enjoyed plenty success on the pony racing scene.

In its report, the panel revealed that amendments to the rules from July 1 will permit disqualified individuals certain privileges. They will preclude access to a "racecourse, stand or enclosure other than those areas to which the general public is permitted access", and, while the default position will remain that such individuals cannot work in licensed yards, there will be a provision that permits an application to the IHRB licensing committee to exercise some discretion.

"This new rule will lighten the burden to some extent of the 12-year suspension," the report notes.

The written reasons released on Wednesday night disclosed at length the evidence presented when McNally, who also runs a kitchen fitting business, was disqualified in January. He was found guilty of ten of the 11 charges brought against him, including conspiring with fellow trainer David Dunne to conceal his ownership of Full Noise and All Class, who landed notable gambles under Dunne's name but both were found to be owned by McNally.

He was also found to have engaged in fraudulent practice by passing on inside information for betting purposes to the point-to-point handler Ciaran Fennessy.

McNally's breaches were described by the IHRB referrals panel as "very serious". It added: "His offences strike at the integrity and the objective of having a level playing field for all who send horses out to race. They also involved a deception of the public, especially the betting public."

In the one-day appeal hearing, McNally brought new evidence to suggest The Jam Man and Dreal Deal had suffered equine asthma but the appeals body described it as a "classic case of an attempt to abandon the failed case made below and re-inventing it." He also challenged the betting evidence as being "unlawfully obtained."

McNally announced in February he had formally appealed the findings of the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board’s referrals panel after it handed him a 12-year disqualification and a fine of €50,000 for a raft of integrity breaches. He was also ordered to repay prize-money totalling €13,400, with Dunne ordered to return nearly €27,000 in prize money.

The appeals panel stated any breach of the rules by McNally during the next 12 years will automatically activate the suspended four years at the end of his initial eight-year disqualification.

Read this next:

Ronan McNally hit with massive 12-year disqualification from Irish racing 

Sign up to receive On The Nose, our essential daily newsletter, from the Racing Post. Your unmissable morning feed, direct to your email inbox every morning.