Darren Weir, Jarrod McLean, Tyson Kermond ordered to pay $82,000 after cruelty to race horses

His lawyer Ian Hill, KC, said Weir was not displeased with the outcome.

Weir, 52, and former Warrnambool trainer Jarrod Alexander McLean, 42, were each not convicted and fined $12,000 on each of three charges, a total of $36,000 each.

Stable hand Tyson Lee Kermond, 30, was not convicted and placed on a two-year good behaviour bond with the condition he make a $10,000 donation to the RSPCA.

They each pleaded guilty in the Warrnambool Magistrates Court to three counts of animal cruelty involving abusing three horses in the lead-up to the 2018 Melbourne Cup.

Weir also pleaded guilty to a firearm charge and McLean to possessing cocaine, which were both proven and dismissed.

Immediately after the fines were handed down Weir told supporters in court he was pleased with the outcome.

"Good, good, good, I'm good," he said during celebrations.

Magistrate Franz Holzer described the offending as mid-range, noting that none of the horses appeared distressed.

Weir was previously banned from racing for four years after being found with jiggers, electronic devices which could be used to shock horses during training in his bedroom.

He will be eligible to apply to Racing Victoria to get his trainer's licence back in February next year.

The prosecution case was that on October 30, 2018, Weir, McLean and Kermond were at Weir's Warrnambool stables when Weir used a jigger to shock three different horses - Red Cardinal, Yogi and Tosen Basil.

A 14-minute 42-second video was played to the court showing the three horses being shocked while they were being trained on an enclosed treadmill while Weir and McLean hit the horses with a poly pipe.

Kermond handled the horses.

Red Cardinal was shocked seven times while Tosen Basil and Yogi each appeared to be shocked nine times.

Only Red Cardinal finished up running in the Melbourne Cup.

The magistrate said each of the three men had exemplary records and they were shown in the October 30 footage to be involved to a greater and lesser extent during the half-hour of the offending.

Mr Holzer said it had taken a "very long time" for the cases to wind their way through the court system after Weir made an offer to plead guilty to the same charges he faced on Wednesday about 34 months ago.

He said each of the accused men suffered considerable embarrassment, shame and emotional impacts which were heightened by the delay.

But the magistrate said animal cruelty was something we should all abhor.

He said the prosecution's submission that convictions and community corrections orders were appropriate was disproportionate to the offending.

Mr Holzer said the abuse happened on one occasion more than four years ago, there was no ill health caused to the horses although there was likelihood they suffered immediate pain. He noted the horses did not appear distressed and none were unwilling to go on or come off the treadmill.

"It's fair to say each of the three (men) should have known better and each should be ashamed," he said, adding the defendants had been the subjects of ridicule and shunned within the racing industry.

Mr Holzer described the offending in the mid-range, or at the lower end of the mid-range.

He said the welfare of the horses mattered and the offending by the trio fell well short of the standard expected.

The magistrate said the reality was that none of the three men were likely to offend again and had good prospects for rehabilitation.

He said each man was of good character, showed evidence of genuine remorse and the "quite extraordinary" delay in the case was extra punishment.

Mr Holzer said there was merit in distinguishing the role of Kermond compared to Weir and McLean and there was a plain imbalance in their roles and responsibilities as shown in the footage.

"It's been a significant fall from grace," he said of the offending and subsequent case.

The prosecution alleged Weir travelled to Warrnambool from Ballarat on October 30, 2018, after asking McLean in a telephone conversation who would be at the stables.

At 12.05pm a video camera installed by police showed the three men entered the stables' treadmill area.

During the footage, Weir was seen explaining his training regime to McLean while Kermond handled the horses.

Racing expert Dr Andrew McLean watched the video and said the use of blinkers, poly pipe and the jiggers was to link acceleration with fear and pain.

Racing Victoria chairman of stewards Robert Cram said there was no legitimate reason to use such apparatus.

Police raids at Weir's Miners Rest stables located three jiggers and a firearm while a cattle prod and cocaine were found at McLean's Yangery property.

Mr Hill, for Weir, said his client had suffered greatly in the past four years.

He said cameras were installed at Weir's Warrnambool stables five days before the October 30 incident and were operational for about 20 days.

He said similar cameras were installed at Weir's Ballarat stable between November 1 and November 12 and the only incident captured was during a 30-minute period at Warrnambool.

Mr Hill said there was no suggestion of any other infraction of the law by Weir or anyone else.

He said Weir had an impeccable reputation for honesty, integrity, community work and assisting his 193 employees or the general community while he had about 500 horses in work.

Mr Hill said at the time of the offending Weir was under pressure as the horses were not training at their optimum level and owners had expectations.

He said Weir would like to return to training but he had to show he was a fit and proper person and since his disgrace Weir had adopted the life of a recluse due to his embarrassment, shame and regret.

McLean had to find different work and had spent time driving a garbage truck before spending the past six months as a venue manager.

Kermond has since become a livestock agent and was described as having an exemplary work ethic.

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