Reuters (and others) is reporting that Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum has been banned from horse racing for 6 months after this horse Tahhan tested positive for a banned substance.

The International Equestrian Federation (FEI) said in a statement “in both events, the horse was ridden by Sheikh Mohammed … who is the person responsible,” the type of event in question is the long distance endurance events , which can be up to  160 km (100 miles) long. There is also a 4,500 Swiss francs (15,816 AED) which I am sure won’t be hurting the royal pocket too much.

In a typical turn of events al-Maktoum has denied all knowledge of doping, whilst his trainer Abdullah bin Huzaim  has pleaded guilty to doping the horses and has been banned for a year.

It seems it is always the little guy in Dubai that gets it in the neck , or is this just an extension of the world we live in.

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