Butler: 'I made a big mistake'

Gerard Butler has spoken of his 'error of judgement' in a statement released by his solicitor on Thursday.

Butler was banned for five years on Wednesday by the British Horseracing Authority for what was described as an "appalling" dereliction of his duties.

Nine of his horses produced positive samples, five cases of which were identified as the joint treatment Sungate, which contains the banned anabolic steroid stanozolol.

However, considered even more serious was Butler's admission of administering another substance, Rexogin, to four horses himself.

Rexogin is designed for use in humans, often for bodybuilding, and contains 10 times as much stanozolol as Sungate.

A statement released through his solicitor, Richard Brooks of Withy King, read: "While this has been a devastating and humiliating experience for me, I am above all aware of its impact on others: not just my family, staff and owners but also the sport I have always loved. I have no intention of hiding from my responsibility for an error of judgement that has undone many years of honest endeavour.

"I only wish to offer one or two observations, then, with no intention of diluting the contrition I feel. My sense that I had betrayed the standards I have always sought to maintain can be judged from the fact that I myself brought a number of breaches to the attention of the BHA.

"I hope it has also become evident how widespread were the misunderstandings, among the training and veterinary communities in Newmarket, over the use of Sungate.

"With that in mind, I must emphasise that no harm resulted to any of the horses involved - and, above all, that I would never have knowingly risked any such harm. It was wrong for me to cut corners but I did so principally through naivety.

"I am grateful for the many messages I have received that recognise this, and also how distressed I am to have let myself and others down. I have made a big mistake, and am paying a big price. The consequences for my wife and three sons will be a daily reproach, harder to bear than any judgements passed by others.

"All I can do is try to pick up the pieces. I will do so with a painfully renewed sense that the principles I neglected, in one disastrous lapse, will be those that serve me best in trying to rebuild my life."