Racing NSW suspends Jack Van Duren three-months for Iz A Gem death

Racing NSW stewards announced a three-month suspension for licensed trainer Jack Van Duren following an inquiry into the death of Iz A Gem, a retired eight-year-old mare that had been in his care, with the action recorded on February 20, 2026. The suspension was announced by the stewards after an inquiry that began earlier in February.

The inquiry into Iz A Gem opened on Feb. 3, 2026; Racing NSW investigators “had attended Van Duren” during the inquiry, a source line states, but the sentence in the available material ends mid-phrase and provides no further detail about where investigators attended or what they did while there. That truncated reporting leaves the investigators’ actions and locations unspecified.

Racing NSW stewards imposed a three-month suspension on Van Duren; the materials provided state the penalty length but do not include an effective start date, end date, or the stewards’ formal findings or charge wording. The available text contains no explicit determination that Van Duren was found at fault, and it does not state whether the suspension is an interim measure, a negotiated penalty, or a finding following the inquiry.

The horse at the centre of the inquiry is Iz A Gem, identified in the sources as a retired mare aged eight years who “had been in [Van Duren’s] care.” No veterinary cause of death, necropsy result, or circumstances of the mare’s death are included in the provided material, and the record does not indicate whether any police or external veterinary investigations were undertaken beyond Racing NSW investigators’ attendance.

A separate database line from Mdata Racingnsw Com Au preserves a prior tokenized entry tied to the same name: “Mr Jack Van Duren (Queanbeyan)” alongside “The Championships, an initiative of Racing NSW,” “Racing Colours,” and a past entry reading “Suspension (Hung Out), 24-Aug-2021, QBYN, JD Walshe.” That 24-Aug-2021 Mdata entry appears to be a distinct record and is not explicitly linked to the 2026 suspension; the provided snippet offers no explanation of the 2021 entry’s context or whether it refers to the same individual.

Key specifics remain unreported in the materials: the stewards’ written decision and its exact wording, the effective dates and any conditions attached to the three-month suspension, the precise actions taken by Racing NSW investigators when they “had attended Van Duren,” and the medical cause of Iz A Gem’s death. Racing NSW stewards are identified as the disciplinary authority for the announcement; until the stewards’ report and any veterinary findings are published, the reasons behind the suspension and the full circumstances of Iz A Gem’s death remain unresolved.