Horse trainer spends £1million trying to prove his innocence after 12 horses test positive for anabolic steroids
A HORSE trainer who’s found himself at the centre of an ‘unprecedent’ doping scandal says he has already spent £1million trying to prove his innocence.
Billionaire property mogul Luke Comer has been banned for three years after 12 of his horses tested positive for anabolic steroids.
Comer previously hit headlines for having a 300-1 winner – the biggest-priced winner in racing history – with He Knows No Fear.
He was one of the horses who failed a drugs test.
Comer denies any wrongdoing and the IHRB stated in their findings ‘there was no direct evidence of deliberate doping in this case’.
The plasterer-turned-businessman insists he is ‘1000 per cent innocent’ and has hired private investigators to find the source of the contamination.
He says he has already spent £1.2m and is willing to ‘spend millions more’ to clear his name.
Comer told the Irish Independent: “I did not ever under any circumstances administer anything to our horses, only good food and vitamins and minerals and necessary medications if they are sick.
“I will not stand for any kind of injustice.
“I will use whatever resources I have to make sure that whoever does any damage to my reputation will pay.
“I am 1,000 per cent innocent. I have never been more right in my life.
“I spend £8.6m a year on horses, breeding, training – everything. I get back about £170,000 from horses.
“I am not in the game for money.
“I don’t train horses for anybody else. I train them for myself. Do you think I would take the bread out of small trainers’ mouths?
“I don’t want to win small races, full stop. I don’t care.
“If a horse ran well, I would rather the money would go to a smaller trainer whose livelihood depended on it.”
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