Tony Martin, the renowned trainer, has been denied his request for a judicial review of the three-month license suspension that the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) imposed on him. It was verified by the IHRB that the suspension becomes effective immediately, and all Martin’s horses scheduled for future races will be removed on the stewards’ command. Among those affected includes Presenting Max, which was pulled from today’s race at Perth, Scotland.
The commencement of Martin’s suspension was scheduled for yesterday, but he submitted his application on Tuesday afternoon which resulted in a temporary stay allowing him to race two horses at Tipperary, neither of which achieved a placing. Justice Mulcahy listened to Martin’s application on Tuesday, and the verdict was announced this morning. The justice denied Martin’s application in all its aspects, prompting the effective commencement of his suspension.
Martin, a frequent victor of the Cheltenham Festival, was first suspended in March when the IHRB won its appeal against the initial, lighter sentence given to Martin for his role in a 2023 anti-doping rules violation.
During an IHRB referrals panel hearing back in December, Martin was hit with a total fine of €11,000 and a six-month licence suspension. The suspension was deferred for two years stemming from his horse, Firstman, testing positive for banned substances post a victorious race at Dundalk in 2023’s January. Firstman was a 13-8 favourite in the handicap race but was later confirmed positive for lidocaine, a painkilling local anaesthetic that is not allowed on race day. Notably, Firstman was Martin’s third horse in four years to fail such a test.
Firstman was listed for the last race at Leopardstown this Friday evening, but the stewards will be removing it.