Hanlon ban reminds trainers of dangers in social media age

Significant damage was done to the sport’s image when the handler’s dead horse was filmed on an open trailer

SANCTIONED: Trainer John 'Shark' Hanlon with shock King George winner Hewick. Picture: Niall Carson/PA

King George-winning trainer John ‘Shark’ Hanlon, kept it uncharacteristically brief last week after hearing that he had been banned for 10 months by the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) for transporting a dead horse along public roads and through a village near his stable on an open trailer. 

“There is going to be an appeal put in straight away, that is one thing,” Hanlon said, “and I can’t say too much at this stage as my legal team have advised me not to say too much. But we are very surprised and very disappointed with the results of the hearing.”