Nicky Henderson fined £2,500 for failing to update horses-in-training register

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Nicky Henderson has been fined £2,500 for failing to update his horses-in-training list, which resulted in horses not being available for out-of-competition drug testing by the BHA.

On October 8 last year, BHA officials went to Henderson’s Seven Barrows stables in Lambourn for routine random testing, with 28 horses selected to be sampled.

However, six horses – Issuing Authority, Quick Draw, Meadowsuite, She Can Do It, Queen’s Cave and an unnamed filly – were not present despite being listed as in training with Henderson.

A subsequent investigation determined three of the horses had been rehomed and three had returned to their owners, including one, Queen’s Cave, who had left the yard in May 2022. None of the horses raced after leaving Seven Barrows.

When interviewed by the BHA in December last year, Henderson said there had been a “clerical error” in not updating the whereabouts of the six horses and accepted it was a trainer’s responsibility to do so.

Quick Draw: one of the horses Credit: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)

In a summary of the case published on the judicial panel website on Monday, it was noted that Henderson and his staff had “learned a lot from this matter”.

The summary added: “Mr Henderson’s position is that the error arose because the horses had retired from racing and had left his yard on their retirement from the sport, and prior to pursuing second careers unconnected with horseracing. 

“Mr Henderson believes that the error in not providing notification that the horses had left his care came about, in part at least, as a consequence of those horses having retired from racing and no longer being connected to or with the sport.”

Traceability of horses is regarded by the BHA as “a key priority in the sport’s welfare strategy” with the authority taking steps to ensure that it gets to “100 per cent traceability of a horse’s first step away from racing", according to the HorsePWR website.

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