‘It makes me sick when I watch the film’: Behind the scenes of the Weir jigger scandal

Darren Weir looked every bit the laconic “bushy” as he leant back on a steel rail at the side of a horse treadmill a week before the 2018 Melbourne Cup.

But what the celebrated trainer did not know, despite his street smarts and distrust of stable outsiders, was that a secret police camera had been hidden high among the rafters of his Warrnambool stables and was watching his every move.

Trainer Darren Weir has pleaded not guilty to charges of corrupt conduct that affects the outcome of a race.Credit: Jason South

He was unaware this tiny apparatus was peering down over his left shoulder and was about to capture footage that would result in his banishment from the sport.

The camera would film Weir as he casually placed his left hand in his jeans pocket to retrieve an electric jigger, about the size of a cigarette packet, from his pocket in an action that looked as innocuous as grabbing a set of car keys.

Weir would then reach forward, place the battery-powered device’s electrodes on the back of his horse, as it galloped on the treadmill, and push the button.

He would deliver an electric shock to three Melbourne Cup hopefuls – Red Cardinal, Yogi and Tosen Basil – in this manner a total of 25 times.

Three months later, his stables in Ballarat and Warrnambool were raided by police; four months later he was disqualified for four years for possessing jiggers, and almost four years later, in December 2022, he would be found guilty without conviction of animal cruelty in the Warrnambool Magistrates’ Court.

But the fallout would not end there. Weir, 53, appeared in the Victorian Racing Tribunal this week – more than five years after he last trained a horse –  to answer another 10 industry charges, including three counts of engaging in conduct to influence the outcome of a race.

The former trainer, who rose from the tiny wheat-belt town of Berriwillock to the pinnacle of Australian racing by winning the 2015 Melbourne Cup, was not casual or laid-back as he sat in a crowded room in the heart of the city, surrounded by lawyers, barristers, king’s counsels and judges.

Dressed in blue suit, white shirt and tie, the 53-year-old pleaded not guilty to three charges of corrupting the outcome of a race, but guilty to three charges of using a jigger, three counts of animal cruelty and one charge of improper and dishonourable conduct. The tribunal has reserved its decision and is expected to hand down a finding early next week.

Darren Weir and Michelle Payne after Prince Of Penzance won the 2015 Melbourne Cup.Credit: Justin McManus

Driven by failure

By his own admission, Darren Weir was pulling his hair out.

The 2018 Melbourne Cup was fast approaching and three of his high-level horses were on the decline.

Japanese-bred Tosen Basil was a $2.5 million purchase that had lost five lengths, European import Red Cardinal had undergone surgery and was underperforming, while stayer Yogi was on his last chance to qualify for the race that stops a nation.

Putting himself under pressure to reverse the slide, the renowned master horseman – who had hundreds of horses, thousands of owners and a staff of 150 – came up with a plan.

It was an idea that would put winning ahead of horse welfare and, ultimately, lead to his demise.

“When you are training good horses, you think about their performance, and they were performing poorly,” Weir told stewards in January 2023.

“I do lots of driving and lots of thinking and, obviously, I came up with this plan in my head at some stage. I can’t tell you the day, but it wouldn’t have been a long time before [October 30, 2018].

Red Cardinal finished 23rd in the 2018 Melbourne Cup for trainer Darren Weir.Credit: Getty Images

“You know, it’s last-resort stuff. Like, I was at the bottom of the – these horses were – you know, they were going nowhere.

“I knew I was breaking the rules of racing. But I wasn’t putting anything in the horse to make it go better, I was just trying to get it to run to the best of its ability.”

Stable spies

Whoever hid the police cameras in Weir’s stables knew their stuff.

They covertly clambered into the rafters and stuck the tiny recording devices in nooks and crannies that even the birds would have struggled to see.

It was one of these spy cameras, cleverly tucked away in a lofty corner of Weir’s Warrnambool operation, that was looking down on October 30, 2018, as Red Cardinal, Tosen Basil and Yogi were led one after another for a stint on the treadmill to be “conditioned”.

The recorder showed Weir and his two offsiders – former assistant trainer Jarrod McLean and former stable hand Tyson Kermond – standing side-by-side on a platform attached to the running apparatus and ready to enact the plan.

Weir was filmed fiddling with a control panel to start the horses running and then leaning back and placing his left hand on a steel rail for support, waiting for the machine to gather speed. It was a typical Weir pose in a typical Weir outfit – dark baseball cap, dark polo top and jeans.

Cross Counter, left, won the 2018 Melbourne Cup in which Darren Weir’s Red Cardinal ran 23rd.Credit: Eddie Jim

As he delivered a series of electric shocks with the jigger, Weir would check the speed of the machine. McLean would occasionally tap the galloping horse on the rump with a piece of plastic poly pipe, while Kermond would help Weir fit and remove the blinkers.

Stewards would also accuse McLean and Kermond of acting as lookouts, knowing their conduct was prohibited and the “arrangement was to keep it secret from others”.

Weir used the jigger seven times on Red Cardinal and nine times each on Tosen Basil and Yogi.

When the training session was complete, the treadmill would slow to a stop and the horses were removed and walked calmly to their barns. They did not buck nor squeal. The process took a matter of minutes.

If not for the camera, staff walking past or working within the stable area would never have known that Weir held a jigger in his hand.

Beginning of the end

Rumours circulated for weeks at the end of 2018 that Weir’s Ballarat and Warrnambool stables would be raided.

Police finally swooped in the dawn hours of January 30, 2019, and seized four jiggers from the bedroom of Weir’s Miners Rest house, attached to his Ballarat stables.

A month later, Weir pleaded guilty to possession of the electronic devices and was disqualified for four years by RV’s disciplinary board.

“You rose from the depths of the Mallee to be Australia’s leading trainer. All of this makes your fall even sadder,” judge John Bowman said at the time. “Now you will be remembered for possessing instruments of cruelty and implements associated with a high level of cheating. This is clearly a significant breach of the rules.”

Police initially denied the existence of the video, but it became central to their investigation and first surfaced in the public domain at Warrnambool Magistrates Court in December 2022.

As a result, Weir was found guilty of animal cruelty and fined $36,000, but avoided a criminal conviction. Police then handed the 15-minute clip to RV stewards who would view the contents, interview Weir and lay the 10 new industry charges.

The corruption charges were contested during this week’s tribunal hearing.

What is conditioning?

Classical conditioning is training a horse to respond to cues.

In this case, stewards alleged that Weir’s horses were trained to run faster during a race, including Red Cardinal in the 2018 Melbourne Cup, because they feared an electric shock.

Relying on evidence from animal behavioural scientist Dr Andrew McLean, stewards alleged that the use of a poly pipe, blinkers and whistling while Weir’s horses were shocked on the treadmill were all “contextual cues” that could be replicated during a race.

Jarrod McLean faced 10 charges in relation to use of a jigger at the Victorian Racing Tribunal this week.Credit: Jason South

McLean told the racing tribunal that if Weir’s horses were fitted with blinkers, tapped with a whip or the jockey whistled during a race, it was “possible, but not 100 per cent guaranteed” the horse would run faster because it feared being shocked.

The stewards’ case

Racing Victoria’s counsel, Albert Dinelli, KC, said there were three key elements in proving the race corruption charges against Weir.

• He did an act – using a jigger on three horses.
• He used the jigger to improve these horses’ performances in a race, and thereby affect the outcome of the race.
• His actions were below the standards of integrity that a reasonable person would expect, particularly from a Melbourne Cup-winning trainer.

Tyson Kermond (left) faced 10 charges in relation to use of a jigger at the Victorian Racing Tribunal this week.Credit: Jason South

“Mr Weir applied a jigger to three race horses, shocking them, we say for only one purpose, that is improving their performance in future races,” Dinelli told the tribunal.

“It can be any result. It is not limited to winning or placing.”

Dinelli said the police video would show that McLean and Kermond were willing participants. McLean and Kermond have pleaded not guilty to four of the 10 charges against them.

Weir’s remorse

If Weir intended to influence the outcome of the 2018 Melbourne Cup as stewards allege, his plan failed miserably.

Yogi finished seventh in the Lexus Stakes, and did not qualify for the country’s greatest staying race, while Red Cardinal finished second last in the Cup – more than 60 lengths behind the winner, Cross Counter. Tosen Basil did not race again after October 30, 2018.

While Yogi would win the listed Sandown Cup over 3200 metres three weeks later, barrister Damian Sheales, for McLean and Kermond, described the victory as consistent with Yogi’s form and ability.

In explaining the genesis of his actions, Weir told stewards he had “no idea what I was doing” when filmed shocking his horses on the treadmill.

“Like, it’s something that I wish I hadn’t done, for sure. I was trying to get these horses to improve,” he said.

“I knew I was breaking the rules, I knew that, and it was a terrible decision.

The Darren Weir-trained Prince Of Penzance won the Melbourne Cup for Michelle Payne in 2015.Credit: Getty Images

“I understand all that, 100 per cent, but I was just trying to get them to run to the best of their ability, not better than their ability, just to the best of their ability.”

Stewards asked Weir if he would have continued with the treatment if the horses had won or performed well.

“The main thing was, I wasn’t happy doing it and very uncomfortable, so that was the main reason that I stopped, because I just didn’t – I wasn’t comfortable doing it, and it makes me sick when I watch the film.

“I’m glad they didn’t run well, so the decision was very easy.”

Weir’s defence

“This is a case of cruelty,” Weir’s counsel, Ian Hill KC, told the tribunal in his closing summary.

“And that is acknowledged by Mr Weir in his interviews, as well as the sadness and regret that he had. It is a case of cruelty and not of corrupt conduct.”

Hill said evidence indicated that the three horses – Red Cardinal, Tosen Basil and Yogi – did not display pain nor fear during or after the treadmill treatment on October 30, 2018. The strength of the jigger was never tested by police.

“And the viewing of their races, with a critical eye, shows nothing untoward in the way in which they performed or were raced,” Hill said.

“Furthermore, no jockey was asked to modify their racing style, nor were they instructed to whistle.”

Hill said Weir’s intent was for his horses to “race to their potential, but no more”.

“He did not intend dishonestly or corruptly to gain an unfair advantage in any race,” he said.

Hill said Racing Victoria was unable to prove that using a jigger four days or a week before a race was likely to affect the subsequent athletic performance of a horse.

What now?

The tribunal, comprising chairman Bowman, Judge Kathryn Kings and former Racing Victoria chief steward Des Gleeson, is expected to hand down its decision on the not guilty pleas early next week.

If proven, engaging in conduct to affect the outcome of a race carries a mandatory five-year disqualification.

For using a jigger, a disqualification of two years or more must be imposed.

It remains to be seen whether a ban would be served concurrently – within the five years that have elapsed since Weir lost his licence – or stretch into the future.

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