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Banned pony racer Colin Mello has quit the sport after being implicated in a so-called 'drug scandal' for an offence he says amounts to giving his horse a headache pill.

Mello - one of the top owner/riders in Bermuda - said he had made an 'honest mistake' when he gave his pony Bute, an anti-inflammatory that experts say is the equivalent of an aspirin.

Now he has been forced to pull all five of his ponies - including Big Red Machine, which briefly held the track record last year - from racing for 12 months.

The 29-year-old feels he has been harshly treated and says he won't race in Bermuda again.

"It comes down to an honest mistake but I have to take it on the chin and keep smiling.

"Bute is a painkiller not a performance enhancer. I honestly didn't do it to cheat."

He plans to ship one of his ponies to the U.S. to race but he dismissed allegations that any of the banned animals would be put down as 'nonsense'. Other pony owners also rubbished the suggestion saying that no-one would put down a healthy pony just because it couldn't race.

Mello was banned from the sport for a year and fined $1,000 after one of his horses tested positive for Bute following the New Year's Day stakes races.

Two other horses - understood to be owned by Francis De Silva of Hang Um High stables - also tested positive for caffeine and were given identical punishments.

DeSilva declined to comment yesterday.

Mello said he was pleased to hear Driving Horse and Pony Club president Nick DeCosta indicate that the club would review its penalties for drug offences.

"I feel the penalty I got is way too harsh. It is basically the equivalent of giving the horse an aspirin. It's far more minor than what it has been made out to be. It's been blown out of all proportion...

"They're going to have a meeting and I'm hoping they do change things because this has been bad publicity for the club."

He said he knew the drug was on the banned substances list for race days but had given it to one of his ponies in between the Boxing Day and New Year's Day stakes races because it was 'a little sore'. He added that he had expected the January 1 races to be postponed because of poor weather.

He accepted this was a mistake but said the punishment did not fit the crime.

Bute is legal for older racehorses along with a vet's certificate but it is banned for younger ponies because it allows them to race while carrying injuries that should be rested.

It is not a performance enhancer but under current DHPC guidelines a blanket ban of a year is imposed for any failed drug test - so Bute carries the same punishment as hardcore drugs like steroids.

"There was nothing malicious in it. The Royal Gazette has just taken a story with a hint of something negative in it and ran with it. That's what hurts. We can't even get our results published in that paper and as soon as something like this comes along it's all over the front page."

Mello, who has been racing since he was 13, said pony racing was a big part of his life. But he said it was an expensive hobby and he no longer wanted to race.

He said he still supports the club and praised president DeCosta for his handling of a tough situation.

And he added that he would like to see more focus on the positive side of pony racing.

"I probably won't race in Bermuda again. We pay to race and we don't get anything back from it.

"This has been such a blow to me. I've raced all my life. It kept me out of trouble when I was younger and gave me something positive to do.

"There's a lot of good people down there from all walks of life. It's a family sport with a lot of dedicated people it's just a shame that it has taken this to get the attention on to harness racing."

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