RAD Board to formally issue Weir penalty

Trainer Darren Weir is facing a four-year ban for possessing jiggers, devices used to shock horses.

Champion trainer Darren Weir will front an inquiry which will confirm a disqualification relating to outlawed electronic devices known as jiggers in his stable.

After a show cause hearing on Monday, Racing Victoria stewards issued a statement saying they would seek a four-year disqualification with Weir indicating he would not contest charges over the three jiggers found in his stable.

The Racing Appeals and Disciplinary Board is expected to hear the charges this week, possibly as early as Wednesday.

Weir’s assistant, licensed trainer Jarrod McLean, will fight a charge relating to a jigger found on his premises.

A five-time Melbourne premiership winner, Weir trained Prince Of Penzance to win the 2015 Melbourne Cup in a famous victory for jockey Michelle Payne.

Jiggers are used in training to give horses a shock and the action is simulated on race day.

The transfer of horses from the Weir stable has already begun with more than a hundred moved to other trainers before Monday’s 11-hour show cause hearing, leaving around 500 on his books.

Weir’s stables at Ballarat and Warrnambool were raided last week in a joint operation by RV stewards and officers from Victoria Police’s sport integrity unit.