Record fine and three-month ban for Henderson for doping Queen’s horse
Racehorse trainer Nicky Henderson has been fined a record £40,000 and banned from running horses for three months after a horse he trained for The Queen tested positive for an anti-bleeding drug.
The six-year-old mare, Moonlit Path, returned a positive analysis from a urine sample taken after she raced at Huntingdon on 19 February.
The sample showed the presence of tranexamic acid, a prohibited substance. The drug was administered by injection on the day of the race, which was the horse’s first, by vet James Main.
Henderson has not been “warned off”, which would mean the trainer would be not allowed to entered British Horseracing Authority-licensed premises, ie racecourses and training yards. But no entries will be accepted for horses he trains from his Lambourn yard from 11 July to 10 October.
This means he will still be able to employ his staff, and horses can be kept with him by their owners, although if the horses are to race they must be put into the care of and entered by another trainers.
The £40,000 fine is twice the previous record amount, given to trainer Michael Wigham in February 2008, after he was found guilty of breaching the “non-triers” rule.
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A St Andrews’ graduate, Catherine joined Horse & Hound in 2002 and stayed for 11 years in a variety of roles until she went freelance in June 2013. She rejoined the team part-time in November 2016 as hunting editor. She pretty much lives on the hunting field or at the racecourse, but also loves eventing, as a journalist, press officer and competitor. She was H&H’s sole accredited journalist at the London Olympic Games and has reported from major race meetings and eventing, showjumping and dressage championships and shows round the world, and has hunted all over Britain and Ireland.