The Courier can confirm Ciaron Maher and David Eustace will take over the training duties of Weir’s stables following his four-year disqualification, announced yesterday.

Maher and Eustace, who have training bases at Caulfield, Cavallino Estate, Merricks North and Warrnambool, had been talked about in racing circles this week as the likely men to take over the operation.

Stewards have approved the application on the following conditions:

An email from Darren Weir Racing’s business manager Mick Leonard to owners confirmed the news on Thursday morning.

The stewards have also advised Weir, Maher and Eustace that they will continue to closely monitor the operations of the Ballarat stabling complex to ensure that all requirements of Mr Weir’s disqualification are strictly adhered to.

The deal with Maher and young Englishman Eustace, who recently became Maher's training partner, means that in the short term at least, all of Weir's staff will retain their jobs.

Maher has not only bought Weir's property and stables, he has also leased another facility that Weir used to hire from the Ballarat Turf Club.

''They [the staff] will all stay on for a period and we will work out how many horses are staying on and work out how many staff are required on that basis,'' Maher said on RSN on Thursday morning.

Maher is not sure how many of Weir's horses will remain part of his stable.

''We are working through that today. I would expect there would be quite a few," he said.

''I think there's capacity for about 150 [horses] but we are not under any stress to run that anywhere near capacity straight off."

Listen to Maher talking about the shift to Ballarat here.

Maher will retain his facility at Caulfield and the trainer has also recently taken control of a 30-horse barn at Warwick Farm in Sydney as part of a NSW expansion.

But he is excited by the opportunities a partial shift to Ballarat offers.

''It's a fantastic facility, they have the tracks, the hill tracks and a wide range of different, alternative training methods," Maher said.

''Someone has put their heart and soul into a place and it's a great opportunity.''

He said conducting the negotiations on Wednesday was ''quite an odd feeling. I would imagine it's very tough for Darren but we got through it.''

Racing Victoria chief executive Giles Thompson issued the following statement:

“We trust this morning’s announcement by the Ballarat Turf Club and Ciaron Maher Racing will be welcomed by those staff affected by Darren Weir’s disqualification and provide them with greater certainty about their immediate working future after a challenging week.

“This is also a positive announcement for the Ballarat community, along with those local suppliers servicing the industry, that a major high-profile training combination in Ciaron Maher and David Eustace have moved swiftly to fill the void that has been left by Mr Weir.

“This also presents a viable option for those owners of Mr Weir’s who would like their horses to remain in their current training environment at Ballarat, where they can utilise the wonderful facilities of the Ballarat Turf Club.

“In granting approval of this application, the stewards have advised all parties that they will continue to closely monitor both the requirements of the transfer and the adherence of Mr Weir to the terms of his disqualification.”