Henderson banned for three months and fined

NICKY HENDERSON has been banned from having runners for three months and fined £40,000 by the BHA over the use of  a banned anti-bleeding drug.

The punishments follow a disciplinary inquiry in relation to a positive analysis returned from a sample taken from Moonlit Path, owned by the Queen, at Huntingdon on February 19.

The panel, formed of Tim Charlton QC, Patrick Hibbert-Foy and Sandra Arkwright, found the former champion trainer guilty of administering tranexamic acid to Moonlit Path before the race.

The details of the ban state that Henderson cannot make any entries for races from July 11 to October 10 inclusively. If any horse leaves Henderson's care and then runs in a race during the three-month period, it cannot return to his care until that period ends. Entries and declarations for races taking place after the end of the three-month period may be accepted.

The £40,000 fine doubles the previous record of £20,000 handed to a trainer after Michael Wigham was fined under the non-triers' rule in February 2008.

Moonlit Path has subsequently been disqualified from the race, in which she finished sixth. The race was won by the Henderson-trained Ravello Bay.

Henderson had admitted to three of the four charges he faced, but denied any wrongdoing in relation to rule 200, which governs administering or attempting to administer a prohibited substance.

Henderson has maintained the medication was used "in the interests of the horse's welfare" - andnot to improve performance.

What is tranexamic acid?

The drug, which is commonly marketed as Cyklokapron, used by Nicky Henderson, or as Transamin in Asia, is an anti-fibrinolytic drug used to prevent excessive bleeding.

It can be administered by injection, but is generally in tablet form when prescribed by doctors.

According to the patient information leaflet produced by the manufacturers, tranexamic acid tablets are taken to prevent unwanted bleeding by stabilising blood clots.

For example before or after surgery on the prostate or cervix, severe menstrual bleeding, severe nose bleeds and bleeding into the eye. It is also commonly used in dentistry in the form of a mouth wash after extractions in patients with prolonged bleeding  such as haemophiliacs.

The usual starting dose for adults is two or three 500mg tablets two or three times a day.

Like all medications, tranexamic acid may produce some unwanted side effects.

The most common minor reactions are gastro-internal disorders, such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea, which usually disappear on reducing the dose, but occasional cases of troublesome blood clots have been reported. It is also possible temporary changes to colour vision can occur, but complaints of this nature are rare.

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