LONDON (AFP) Former champion trainer Nicky Henderson has been banned for three months and handed a record fine for administering a prohibited anti-bleeding drug to a horse owned by the Queen. The case relates to a positive test returned from a sample taken from Moonlit Path, sporting Queen Elizabeth II's colours, at Huntingdon on February 19. After an investigation racing's governing body the BHA ruled that Henderson, 58, was guilty of giving the mare tranexamic acid before the race and banned him from July 11 to October 10. They also fined him a record 40,000 pounds. This is a significant blow to Henderson who is one of Britain's most successful trainers. The punishment comes in a year when he saddled Punjabi to land his fourth Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival and sent out a winner at Royal Ascot. In a statement,... [read full story]
