{
  "id": 14045537,
  "title": "Mullins fined and horse disqualified over doping test",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/12/mullins-fined-and-horse-disqualified-over-doping-test",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-12T20:52:53.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "BBC Sport",
    "slug": "bbc-sport",
    "url": "https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/horse-racing/articles/c8zxl1dezgkqo?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Willie Mullins, the top trainer, has been fined and one of his horses, Final Demand, has been disqualified from a race at the Cheltenham Festival. The reason for this disciplinary action is that Final Demand tested positive for a prohibited substance, mepivacaine, in its system during the Grade One event on March 11. The independent British Horseracing Authority disciplinary panel revealed that Mullins had failed to declare the use of mepivacaine in the horse's medical declaration forms submitted earlier.\n\nAn investigation into the doping test also found that CCTV footage of the stables where the horse was kept had been misplaced. According to the panel chair, Sarah Crowther KC, no suggestion exists that Mullins or his staff were aware of any administration of mepivacaine. The BHA acknowledges that reasonable precautions had been taken at the yard. The panel stated that the horse had been moved to a different yard at the time of receiving the dose, and the footage was obtained and reviewed. Cheltenham was fined £5,000 for breaching the rule regarding retaining CCTV footage.",
  "summary": "A British Horseracing Authority panel fines trainer Willie Mullins and disqualifies Final Demand from a race after a failed doping test.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}