Coach Richard Hannon managed to convince a disciplinary panel on May 24 that he should not be punished for the high levels of arsenic detected in Oh purple Reign after he finished last out of six in the 2019 Tattersalls Stakes (G3) at Newmarket Racecourse. Seaweed was the focus of the eight-hour hearing, as the BHA argued that the long-standing practice at Hannon yards of feeding horses three times a day was the result of a positive test result.
That practice has ended, but conflicting scientific evidence has emerged as to whether seaweed may be to blame. “Obviously, that outcome happened, but we don’t know how,” said veterinarian David Rendle, who Hannon called an expert witness. “I can’t understand how it can be explained just from feeding seaweed.”
The BHA said Hannon was alerted to the risk of positive when David Sykes, then its director of equine health, called to inform them that several runners from Wiltshire had shown high levels of arsenic. in race day tests. They discussed seaweed feeding as a possible cause.
Presenting evidence to the jury, Hannon recalled the conversation as “a normal conversation” and said he saw no reason to change the yard’s feeding regimen, with seaweed already a part of the diet. the barn’s horse diet for about 40 years at the time.
“One horse is close to the threshold,” said the trainer, recalling what Sykes had told him. “But he is not finished yet.
“Three generations of coaches. No one has crossed the threshold. Why panic when there hasn’t been one in 30 years? Mr. Sykes made it clear that all of my guys are below the threshold and we can. proceed with caution, that’s what we do. There’s no reason to think one will end up.”
The panel heard that the BHA had only been testing for arsenic since January 2019, Sykes argued that the technology had not been available before. The evidence is not clear as to when to stop using seaweed at Hannon, but it appears to have declined by at least November 2019, as coach runners have not shown high levels of arsenic since then. in the tests.
The BHA considers it strong evidence that seaweed is indeed the cause of the previously elevated levels, and argues that Hannon should have responded immediately to Sykes’ intervention. But Rendle says the problem can be multifactorial, and the seaweed itself cannot be the cause.
“I totally follow the argument but I don’t necessarily agree with it,” he said. “There’s a temporal association, there’s circumstantial evidence. But it’s not proof. That’s not scientifically rigorous enough for me.”
The hearing is scheduled to be completed on Tuesday, but the debate over the scientific evidence has turned the hearing acrimonious. A new date must be found to close the argument.
