Tim Vaughan: Welsh trainer given suspended ban over horse’s positive drug test

Welsh trainer Tim Vaughan has been fined £1,000 and given a suspended six-month ban after one of his horses tested positive for a banned substance.

Bells Of Peterboro was found to have an adverse analytical finding for triamcinolone acetonide (TCA), a substance that is allowed in training but banned on racedays.

TCA is a synthetic corticosteroid with anti-inflammatory and painkilling properties.

The horse won a novices’ handicap chase at Chepstow on 24 January, 2024. The nine-year-old has since been disqualified from that race.

British Horseracing Authority (BHA) rules on the use of corticosteroids states: “The horse must not have been administered any intra-articular corticosteroid on the day of the race or on any of the 14 days before the day of the race in which the horse is declared to run.”

Vaughan’s six-month ban will only come into place in the event of a subsequent positive test for one of his horses within the next 18 months.