Gordon Elliott, one of racing’s most successful trainers, has been banned from training for 12 months by the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB), with the final six months suspended, over a photograph which showed him sitting on a dead horse on his gallops which emerged last Saturday. The penalty will come into force on 9 March, a week before the opening day of the Cheltenham Festival where Elliott has twice been the leading trainer. The IHRB’s verdict concluded an eight-hour hearing of the case on Friday, and could lead to a new trainer taking temporary control of Elliott’s yard in County Meath before the Festival meetings at both Cheltenham and Aintree, where the stable is likely to have runners in the Grand National on 10 April. The verdict also noted a “sinister aspect” to the case, accepting that “the release of this photograph is part of a concerted attack upon Mr Elliott, the full circumstances of which are unknown”. Elliott released a statement shortly after his suspension was announced in which he said that he had been “dealt with fairly” by the regulator and that he “will carry the burden of my transgressions for the rest of my career”, adding: “I will never again disrespect a horse living or dead and I will not tolerate it in others.” Elliott also acknowledged that he is “in this situation by my own action and I am not going to dodge away from this”. He continued: “I am paying a heavy price for my error but I have no complaints. It breaks my heart to see the hurt I have caused to my colleagues, family, friends and supporters. I have a long road ahead of me but I will serve my time and then build back better.” The image of Elliott astride Morgan, a novice chaser which died as a seven-year-old in 2019, caused widespread anger and revulsion both within the racing industry and far beyond it. The trainer ended speculation about its authenticity on Sunday evening, and said in an interview on Monday that it had been the result of “a moment of madness”. In delivering the panel’s verdict on the case on Friday, Mr Justice Groarke, its chair, said that the photograph “had caused considerable public dismay and anger given not only what was depicted but also the jovial demeanour and gesticulations of Mr Elliott”. Groarke also outlined the panel’s discussion of the case before deciding on an appropriate penalty. It determined that “on any reasonable objective interpretation”, Elliott “was treating the dead animal as an object of amusement” and “callously participated” in a photograph, which “given all the circumstances, was entirely inappropriate”. However, the panel also decided that the incident was “not one of cruelty in the strict sense, nor on the basis of evidence received … [was] it an animal welfare issue”, and said that it had heard no suggestion that horses in Elliott’s stable “are maintained and looked after other than to the highest standards”. While it considered its penalty appropriate to the offence, the panel acknowledged that it is “but one of a plethora of punishments which he is already suffering and will likely continue to suffer. These include serious damage to his reputation and, anecdotally, substantial economic loss through loss of business contracts and departure of horses from his yard to be trained elsewhere.” Elliott will also pay the IHRB’s €15,000 costs in bringing the case, and has agreed not to attend any race meeting or point-to-point event for six months. In a statement on Friday evening, the British Horseracing Authority welcomed “the fact that the Irish authorities have acted quickly”, adding that “respect is an integral and essential part of the duty of those in charge of animals”. Its statement continued: “Today’s decision confirms that horses will not be able to run at the Cheltenham Festival or Grand National Festival in the name of Gordon Elliott. However, if those horses are transferred directly to other licensed trainers prior to 9 March they will be able to run”. The IHRB is expected to publish a fuller account of the evidence heard and the panel’s reasoning in its finding in due course.