Darren Weir sentenced to an additional two-year ban from racing

Darren Weir is a character that splits racing. There are some who argue that he has served his time and that taking away his pre-training business was unnecessary. On the other hand, some will argue that he should never be in charge of a horse again. Whatever side of the fence you are on, Weir continues to make the news.

Weir has served a four-year ban

The first ban that Weir was given for using a jigger was one of four years. The terms of that ban meant that Weir could have nothing to do with the racing industry in any shape of form during the time of this ban.

Jiggers found in his bedroom were used on horses as an electric shock device. Given modern sensibilities, it is no surprise that these things are banned from use and anyone who uses them in training should expect to be dealt with in the same way as Weir. 

In the continual fight with critics of animals being involved in sports of any kind, a strong hand when it came to a ban was always going to be the way that the authorities went. Even with a second ban now, they wanted it to be more.

Stewards wanted another decade added

Racing Victoria has no interest in having Weir back among the training ranks. With his ban served, he was able to reapply for a licence in 2023 but extra suitability criteria added to the licensing of any trainers meant that he was always destined to fail after his past crimes. 

It is a difficult case with people on both sides of the fence. While the original ban has been served, with the new CCTV evidence coming to light that saw this second ban implemented, were Racing Victoria justified in searching for a longer period of Weir not being around racing?

As of now, there is no set start date for the ban. This is where the tribunal has the opportunity to be generous to Weir and start it immediately or even backdate the start for it to run from the date his prior one ended. They also could make an example of Weir and start it at some point in the future once he has cleared out his pre-training facility. 

Loss of a new business venture

Although Weir was unable to get a licence to train horses, he was able to open up a pre-training facility to school youngsters on how to be a racehorse. While this seems to be natural given the same conditions as his first ban, it does leave some other people out of work.

There will be some who argue that if you are working for someone like Weir then you should have an idea that something is going to cut you down eventually but in this day and age with a cost of living crisis seemingly worldwide, to lose a job through no fault of your own is not something that is going to be an easy pill to swallow.

So, will we ever see Weir back on track in the future? It looks unlikely in Victoria anyway and other jurisdictions might be looked upon unfavourably if they were to disregard the Racing Victoria sentence after the new ban has been completed. 

The winner of 36 Group 1 races, including a Melbourne Cup, Weir has served his originally allocated time and will now serve some more. He will likely never be granted a licence again with Racing Victoria rightly taking abuse seriously and will serve as a story of warning to the entire industry that this will not be tolerated.