Stewards' Report - Patrick Payne

Racing Victoria (RV) Stewards, subsequent to their investigation, have issued four charges against licensed trainer, Mr. Patrick Payne, each under Australian Rule of Racing 240(2) as the trainer of Hard To Cross (the Horse) after the Horse won Race 3 at Sportsbet Sandown Hillside Racecourse on 15 May 2024 and also Race 8 at Sportsbet Sandown Hillside Racecourse on 25 May 2024.

Charge: AR 240 Prohibited substance in sample taken from horse at race meeting:

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(2)    Subject to subrule (3), if a horse is brought to a racecourse for the purpose of participating in a race and a prohibited substance on Prohibited List A and/or Prohibited List B is detected in a sample taken from the horse prior to or following its running in any race, the trainer and any other person who was in charge of the horse at any relevant time breaches these Australian Rules.
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A summary of the particulars of the charges is as follows:

• On 15 May 2024, the Horse was presented to the Sportsbet Sandown Hillside Racecourse and was engaged to race in Race 3, the Tobin Brothers Celebrating Lives Handicap over 1600 metres (the Race).
• On 15 May 2024, after the Race, a urine sample (V827489) was taken from the Horse (the Sample).
• Prohibited substances, being Formestane, 4-Hydroxytestosterone and 6a-Hydroxyandrost-4-Ene3,17-Dione, were detected in the Sample taken from the Horse.
• On 25 May 2024, the Horse was presented to the Sportsbet Sandown Hillside Racecourse and was engaged to race in Race 8, the Tile Importer Handicap over 1600 metres (the Race).
• On 25 May 2024, after the Race, a urine sample (R006399) was taken from the Horse (the Sample).
• Prohibited substances, being Formestane, 4-Hydroxytestosterone and 6a-Hydroxyandrost-4-Ene3,17-Dione, were detected in the Sample taken from the Horse.
• Formestane, 4-hydroxytestosterone and 6a-hydroxyandrost-4-ene 3, 17-dione are prohibited substances pursuant to Division 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 1 (Prohibited list A) of the Australian Rules of Racing.

The presence of Formestane, 4-Hydroxytestosterone and 6a-Hydroxyandrost-4-ene3,17-Dione was detected in the samples by Racing Analytical Service Limited and in the reserve samples by the Australian Racing Forensic Laboratory.

The charges issued against Mr Payne will be heard before the Victorian Racing Tribunal on a date to be fixed.

Formestane is an aromatase inhibitor and an anti-estrogenic substance. It can block the conversion of androgens into oestrogens. It can therefore be classified as a selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERMS). In the Australian Rules of Racing, compounds listed in Schedule 1, Part 1, Division 1 as prohibited substances include but are not limited to SERMS. Formestane is thus considered a prohibited substance under the Rules of Racing.

Formestane is not registered or approved for use in animals by the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA). It is not currently registered with the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA). The TGA is Australia's government authority responsible for evaluating, assessing and monitoring products that are defined as therapeutic goods such as medicines, medical devices and biologicals.

Formestane is not on the exempted list of therapeutic goods listed on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG). The ARTG is the public database of therapeutic goods that can be legally supplied in Australia. This means that Formestane cannot be legally supplied for use in humans in Australia.

4-hydroxytestosterone is a derivative of testosterone and is a synthetic anabolic androgenic steroid and is therefore prohibited under the Rules of Racing.

6a-hydroxyandrost-4-ene 3, 17-dione is a metabolite of the anabolic steroid androst-4-ene-3, 6, 17-trione (6-OXO) and is therefore prohibited under the Rules of Racing.