Melbourne Cup winning trainers face ‘enormous’ ban
Updated . First published
Melbourne Cup winning horse trainers Anthony and Sam Freedman face the possibility of a six-month ban, which threatens to effectively bring down their successful operation.
The father and son trainers fronted the Victorian Racing Tribunal on Wednesday and a verdict will be determined on July 1.
Top trainer Sam Freedman (right) celebrates the 2023 Melbourne Cup win alongside Without A Fight jockey Mark Zahra. Getty Images
They have been charged with race day treatment of two horses on August 16.
The Freedmans are not believed to have been present when Kira and Moonhaven were both administered medication via a nebuliser at the trainers’ Cranbourne stable last year, which stewards saw happen.
The horses were therefore not allowed to race at a Caulfield meeting they had been nominated for, and while they didn’t end up running, both were accidentally accepted for their respective races due to an alleged oversight by stable staff.
The charge carries a mandatory six-month ban, although Racing Victoria has asked the tribunal to consider a three-month suspension due to the Freedmans pleading guilty, and the fact it was a simple administrative error.
The barrister acting for the Freedmans has asked the tribunal to consider a monetary fine rather than a ban.
Any suspension would shut down the Freedman operation completely, meaning all horses under their supervision would be transferred to other stables. It’s believed the Freedmans have up to 200 race horses currently.
The suspension could also lead to up to 70 stable staff being unemployed for the duration of the ban.
The Freedmans’ barrister Matthew Stirling highlighted the “enormous” ramifications of any suspension imposed on the trainers.
He estimated the monthly bills of the Freedman operation to be about $380,000, covering staff wages and stable hire.
“There is accountability and some culpability (on trainers) in this case because the system broke down but you’d assess it as relatively low,” Stirling said to the tribunal on Wednesday.
“The point of importance is the administration was not authorised, or intended, or a directed act of either trainer.”
Anthony and Sam Freedman won the 2023 Caulfield and Melbourne Cups with Without A Fight.
Anthony - Sam’s father - formerly worked alongside his brother Lee, who is a Hall of Fame trainer and prepared legendary mare Makybe Diva for her second and third Melbourne Cup triumphs.