A greyhound owner has been hit with a 15-month ban after a prohibited substance was detected in one of his dogs following a race in Lifford.
Raymond Hamilton Jnr from Derry was also fined €5,000 by the Greyhound Racing Control Committee.
His greyhound, Bartlemy Soldier, tested positive for nandrolone when a urine sample was obtained at Lifford Greyhound Stadium on April 5, 2025.
Bartlemy Solider finished last in the race in question, a run graded at S2.
Specifically, four different canine metabolites for nandrolone, an anabolic steroid banned under greyhound racing rules, showed up in the sample: 19-norepiandrosterone; 19-noretiocholanolone; 5a-estran-3B, 17B-diol; and 5a-estran-3B, 17a-diol.
The owner was not present for the Greyhound Racing Control Committee meeting. However, in an Investigation Report Form, submitted by Mr Hamilton Jnr, he said he did not knowingly administer a prohibitive substance to the dog.
He claimed that contaminated meat led to the positive test and told the committee that he has since changed his meat supplier.
The Greyhound Racing Control Committee also heard evidence from Dr. Jim Healy of The Irish Greyhound Laboratory in relation to laboratory evidence in which he stated that the sample showed four different canine metabolites for nandrolone.
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The committee was satisfied with the case put forward by Rásaíocht Con Éireann.
Mr Hamilton Jnr was issued with a Disqualification Order for 15 months and was ordered to pay €5,000.
Costs of €750 were awarded in favour of Rásaíocht Con Éireann.
Last July, Mr Hamilton Jnr was imposed with a €5,000 fine after another dog, Long Spartacus, returned a positive test.
Traces of 19-norepiandrosterone and 19-noretiocholanolone returned from a urine sample obtained at Lifford Greyhound Stadium on August 24, 2024.
At its meeting last July, the Greyhound Racing Control Committee sent a warning and admonition to Mr Hamilton Jnr in relation to his management, control, ownership and training of greyhounds.
Meanwhile, a Mr Robert Montgomery from Letterkenny was fined €250 after administering diazepam to his greyhound, Hit The Floor.
Laboratory analysis of the sample, obtained at Lifford Greyhound Stadium in August, 2025, detected nordiazepam, temazepam and oxazepam, metabolites consistent with exposure to diazepam, a prohibited sedative medication.
The Greyhound Racing Control Committee noted evidence given by Mr. Mongomery where he was not challenging the sampling process or the laboratory findings and there was an admission to being in breach of the regulations.
He advised that Hit The Floor often takes panic-attacks and he gave the dog a diazepam tablet.
The Greyhound Racing Control Committee noted a “very comprehensive” Investigation Report Form and the evidence received around the procurement of the sample, where Mr. Montgomery highlighted to the Control Steward that he gave the greyhound a diazepam tablet.
These were seen as mitigating factors by the committee.