Racing: Japanese horse Deep Impact has been stripped of his third place at last month's Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe after testing positive for a banned substance.
Traces of ipratropium, an inhaled medication that aids breathing, had been found in the horse's urine samples following tests carried out after the race in Paris on October 1st.
French racing authorities also fined Deep Impact's trainer Yasuo Ikee €15,000 for his part in the one of the most embarrassing scandals to hit Japanese racing.
Deep Impact, considered the best horse in Japanese racing history, had won 10 of 11 starts in Japan and had been heavily tipped to become the first non-European horse to win the Arc.
Both his A and B samples tested positive for ipratropium, which is not on Japan's list of banned substances. Deep Impact had previously undergone treatment for respiratory trouble but his handlers had been aware that ipratropium was banned in Europe.
