Paper forced out of print for alleging doping at Abu Dhabi racing stables
An Abu Dhabi newspaper has been forced out of print for 20 days after reporting allegations of horse doping at the ruling family’s stables.
In October 2006 the paper, Al-Emarat Al-Youm, printed a front-page story alleging use of steroids on horses at the Abu Dhabi royal family’s Warsan racing stables.
The defamation case originally went to the courts in November 2008 but was appealed by the newspaper, owned by the ruler of Dubai, Sheik Mohammed bin Rashed al-Maktoum.
On Wednesday (1 July) a court in the United Arab Emirates upheld the conviction against the paper and fined the editor Dh 20,000 (£3,336).
The paper cannot appeal the decision.
Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now
Never miss out on the latest happenings in the equestrian world
A self-confessed newshound, farmer’s daughter and journalist of many years' experience, Charlotte worked on regional papers before joining H&H in 2007. A regular rider, she visited Ireland in 2010 to investigate the fate of Irish horses through the recession, to much acclaim, and reported from the FEI General Assembly in Rio de Janeiro in 2011. She left Horse & Hound in March 2013.