Racing shock: Tasmanian Derby winner returns irregular swab

Vamos Raffa, a former Victorian galloper, was trained by Scott Brunton at Seven Mile Beach when he won the three-year-old classic at Elwick on February 1.

Connections have the right to challenge the finding but, if a positive swab is confirmed, the horse will automatically be disqualified.

If that happens, the first prizemoney of $90,000 will be paid to the connections of Victorian-trained runner-up Skyt.

Chief steward Scott Quill on Monday confirmed that Vamos Raffa's irregularity came from a pre-race blood test.

"The results of testing on both the A and B samples are now back and there will be an inquiry but we've yet to set a date," Quill said.

The cause of the irregularity has not been revealed.

Harness trainer Doug Nettlefold has lost his appeal against a $2000 fine imposed on an arsenic charge.

Nettlefold's star filly Blame It On Me tested positive after winning the Evicus Stakes final in Hobart last July.

She was subsequently disqualified, costing Nettlefold and his wife Angela, who own the filly, $25,000 in stakemoney.

It was accepted that treated pine fencing was the source of the arsenic and, after considering the trainer's good record, stewards suspended $1000 of his fine.

However Nettlefold appealed on numerous grounds, including possible swab contamination and alleged breaches of procedure.

In its finding, the Appeal Board said that the hearing had been characterised by obscure, unclear, or unintelligible evidence, irrelevant material and ever-changing grounds for appeal.

It also noted that in a number of aspects ORI's practices fell short in terms or transparency and its processes were "less rigorous than they could have been and were not fully complied with."

"While the board found there was no material flaw that could invalidate the test results, the practices and procedures around the taking and testing of these samples were of concern," it said.