The former Sydney trainer Tony Karakatsanis had failed to learn from three previous suspensions and deserved no leniency for his role in the attempted stomach-tubing of a horse trained by his son, a racing tribunal has ruled.
Victoria's Racing Appeals and Disciplinary (RAD) Board banned Karakatsanis from any involvement in racing for two years after finding him guilty of three charges relating to his attempt to treat the horse Howmuchdoyouloveme before he raced at Flemington on November 3.
His son Con was disqualified for nine months for his role in what RAD Board chairman Russell Lewis described as a "premeditated joint enterprise".
Both father and son maintain their innocence and intend to seek a retrial before the Victorian Civil and Administrative Appeals Tribunal.
The case against the pair stemmed from a raid on a stable at Flemington housing Howmuchdoyouloveme hours before he was due to race at the same track.