Young Adelaide trainer Nick Smart wants to look forward rather than dwell on the events of the past 12 months.

Smart faced financial ruin and a long period out of racing after South Australian stewards disqualified him for 12 months for having a banned substance in his possession during a stable inspection in June last year.

However, the state's Racing Appeals Tribunal has ended a tumultuous year for Smart by commuting his disqualification to a $2000 fine.

Smart pleaded guilty to possessing a vial of a banned peptide on his Morphettville premises, which he had taken over earlier in 2013.

"I pleaded guilty because I was careless in that I didn't clean out the cupboard when I got there," Smart said.

"I expected to get a fine and we'd move on with life."

The trainer appealed the severity of the 12-month ban, borrowing heavily to finance his legal costs.

The 30-year-old argued the largely empty vial was left there by the previous tenant Will Clarken and produced veterinary evidence to show Clarken's vet had administered the substance in 2012 when the peptide was not on the banned list.

Smart's appeal centred on whether the vial was empty or full when it was found by stewards.

Initial evidence from the veterinary surgeon contended the vial was full before she changed her testimony via affidavit on June 12.

The vet's revised evidence led to the appeals panel quashing the disqualification, leaving the trainer free to rebuild a team that had dwindled to a single runner as the drama played out.

"I just want to move on and I hope everybody does the same," Smart said.

"It's only because of the support of my father (Oakbank trainer Bill Smart), that I've been able to stay in business."

Nick and Bill Smart will form a training partnership in the new season and the younger Smart has a long-range goal to get stayer Distillation to the Group Two Perth Cup (2400m) on New Year's Day.

Distillation provided Smart with a rare highlight of the past year when he won the Group Three Lord Reims Stakes at Morphettville.