TRAINER Luke W. Comer has had his 12-month suspension reduced to three months and suspended on appeal.

Comer received his ban following the discovery in 2021 by Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board inspectors of nine equine carcasses on land where his training operation was based in Summerhill, Co Meath.

Last March, Comer, who said he was shocked at the discovery and could not explain how the equine remains were present, appeared before Navan District Court and was ordered to pay €20,000 to the ISPCA.

The Appeals Body, chaired by Justice Peter Kelly, found that the Referrals Committee erred in concluding that the dead horses belonged to Comer when alive, and that there was no evidence to suggest he was guilty of any breach of equine welfare rules or that he had improperly disposed of the carcasses.

Comer had originally offered to pay €10,000 to Treo Eile each year for two years in lieu of a fine. However, the Appeals Body said it would be more appropriate that a fixed monetary penalty of €15,000 be imposed on Comer, payable to the IHRB.