Darren Weir faces six charges and issued with a show cause notice

Racing Victoria stewards have charged Darren Weir with six offences under the rules of racing and asked him to show cause as to why he should not be suspended pending the hearing of those charges.

The show cause hearing involving Weir began with stewards at 4pm AEST via a telephone hook-up with the trainer being asked to show cause as to why he should not be stood down.

There is still a possibility Weir-trained horses due to race at Moonee Valley on Friday night and at Caulfield on Saturday could be scratched as a result however such an outcome is dependent on the results of the show cause hearing.

The charges come as a result of the joint Racing Victoria-police investigation into his training program that saw his Ballarat and Warrnambool stables raided on Wednesday.

Police arrested and questioned Weir, stable foreman Jarrod McLean and staff member Tyson Kermond on Wednesday but they were released without charge.

Stewards then interviewed the trio at Racing Victoria's Flemington headquarters on Thursday in a marathon hearing that ended at 9pm.

McLean and Kermond have also been charged.

Racing officials have spent Friday considering their legal options in relation to Weir.

There are nine Weir-trained horses due to run on Friday night at Moonee Valley while the stable has 11 entrants at Saturday's Caulfield meeting

Police seized "jiggers" from the 48-year-old Melbourne Cup winning trainer's stables with allegations of animal cruelty and corrupt betting practices being investigated.

Article courtesy of The Age
Written by Peter Ryan