NEWS
Henderson handed three-month ban for failed drug test
Posted: Monday, July 06, 2009 3:33 PM
Trainer Nicky Henderson was slapped with a three-month ban on Friday after one of his runners failed a drug test.
Henderson was also handed a record fine—approximately $65,444 (40,000 British pounds)
At a hearing with the British Horseracing Authority earlier this week, regulators found Henderson guilty of administering tranexamic acid, a prohibited medication that controls bleeding, to Moonlit Path before a race at Huntingdon on February 19.
Moonlit Path, who is owned by Queen Elizabeth II, finished sixth.
“Although the medication should not have been administered, I can only reiterate, as the panel has accepted, that it was only given in the interest of the welfare of Moonlit Path herself,” Henderson said in a statement.
A two-time champion National Hunt trainer, Henderson has the right to appeal.
The queen’s jumps racing adviser, Michael Oswald, expressed disappointed in the outcome.
“We will obviously discuss it, but have not yet had a chance to do so,” Oswald told the Associated Press.
