Luke W Comer, offspring of the wealthy entrepreneur Luke Comer, has had his horse training licence put on hold for a year by the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB). The reason for the suspension, rendered by an IHRB referrals panel under the stewardship of Chief Justice Siobhán Keegan on a Thursday, stemmed from the degradation to the sport’s esteem consequent to an occurrence in 2021. The issue revolved around the detection of decomposed equine bodies on Comer’s Summerhill, Co Meath property by Department of Agriculture auditors.
In March of the ongoing year, the situation moved to legal proceedings where Comer, pleading ignorance of the event but maintaining complete collaboration with the relevant authorities, succeeded in avoiding a formal declaration of guilt. Furthermore, he contributed a sum of €20,000 to the ISPCA, following which the accusations were shelved. The IHRB proceeded to conduct a detailed scrutiny of the episode thereafter, highlighting before the referrals panel that all participants in the equestrian sport are obligated to maintain behaviours that consolidate its honour and standing.
The trainer, Comer, had his accreditation revoked for an annum on grounds of causing deterioration to equestrian racing’s fame. In accordance with the IHRB, Comer’s involvement in the horse carcass discovery and the subsequent media furore – exacerbated by the court proceedings – overtly contravened established norms, thereby placing the dignity and standing of horse racing in jeopardy.
Albeit Comer, whose limited licence permitted him to coach a maximum of four horses per class, disclaimed direct participation in the event, the referrals tribunal adjudged his failure in fulfilling a trainer’s responsibilities. The panel determined that such an incident had deleteriously impacted the perceived reliability of equine welfare norms in the industry, eroding public trust.
The number of race runners trained by Comer in Ireland has been less than 60 for the past half-decade, with a solitary victory back in 2018. His interdict occurs following his father’s commencement of a three-year suspension of his own licence the preceding month, in the wake of an appeal’s defeat against penalties coalesced by the IHRB, subsequent to a high-profile doping saga involving anabolic steroids detected in a dozen of his horses.
Shortly after the onset of his suspension, his child took charge of a pair of runners owned by Comer Snr at the Curragh on Irish Oaks day. Since then, there has been no recurrence of such a situation. The referrals panel last Thursday revealed that both figures, Luke Comer and Luke W Comer, were present at the site during the 2021 review. Dr Lynn Hillyer, a high-ranking veterinary officer from the IHRB, conducted a veterinary examination. She found horse remains varying in age, including skulls, jawbones, and vertebrae. Nonetheless, due to potential hidden identity chips, it proved impossible to accurately identify the age and disposal techniques of these horse remains during the examination. Luke Comer Jnr agreed that a penalty was necessary but proposed an annual €10,000 donation to Treo Eile, a rehoming and retraining charity for horses, over a two year period. To replace the fine, the panel sought a contribution to the same organisation, as they considered the initial penalty fee insufficient. They hoped this would support those in the racing industry looking to rehome and retrain their horses.