Tim Vaughan: Horse trainer handed ban after horse fails drug test

Acclaimed horse trainer Tim Vaughan has been handed a suspended six-month ban and has been fined £1,000 after one of his horses tested positive for a banned substance. The horse is Bells of Peterboro.

Tim Vaughan racing posted a statement on X (formerly Twitter), which reads: “TCA is an anti-inflammatory and is not performance enhancing. The injection of kenalog - which contains TCA and which led Bells of Peterboro testing positive - was administered legally by our vets and for therapeutic reasons 26 days before he ran at Chepstow.

“At the time we believed that sufficient time had passed for the TCA to clear the horse’s system before he ran. However, regrettably withdrawal times are not an exact science and unfortunately on this occasion the TCA remained in his system while he ran. As a result we committed a breach of Rule (K)2.2 of the rules of racing.

“While disappointing for all involved and particularly for Bells of Peterboro’s owners, we can only learn from this. Should a horse require TCA on veterinary advice in future, the horse will be tested via the voluntary elective process before heading to the racecourse.

“We are rightly proud of our disciplinary record over the past two decades with a license, during which time we have had over 7,000 runners and nearly 900 winners.”