One of Ireland's top coursing greyhounds, which is part-owned by former footballer Vinnie Jones, has tested positive for drugs following the €80,000 Irish Cup event in Limerick.
Boavista failed the test following his win at the Irish Cup - the world's richest hare coursing event - on February 26th.
The greyhound, which won the Coursing Greyhound of the Year award for the 2005/06 season, is jointly owned by Jones and Irishmen Pat Curtin and Dinny Gould.
The chief executive of the Irish Coursing Board, Jerry Desmond, said the dog's owners would be summoned to a hearing in Co Tipperary "within a few weeks".
"The inquiry will be conducted by a sub-committee of the executive committee of the Irish Coursing Club, which is our governing committee," he said.
"Generally, with anyone found in breach of the rules, one mandatory sanction would be disqualification from the stake in question, but I should say that any decision of the sub-committee will be subject to appeal."
He could not say which drug was involved, he said, "because the matter is sub judice".
Jones, a former Welsh international soccer player who became an actor after retiring from the game, was travelling between California and Dubai yesterday, but his spokesman told The Irish Times: "He's disappointed, but what will be will be. We'll just have to see what happens."
Positive drug tests are rare in Irish coursing. It is understood that Boavista was tested at the Irish Coursing Championships at Clonmel in January and the result was negative.
Boavista's win at the Irish Cup stretched his unbeaten run to 24 courses since September 2005.
Jones did not attend the event at Greenmount Park in Limerick due to film commitments.
The Irish Council Against Blood Sports yesterday called for further details of the positive test to be released. A spokesman for the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism, which has responsibility for the sport, said the test was "an operational matter for the relevant authorities."
Animal rights activists have accused Jones of glamorising coursing, which involves two muzzled greyhounds chasing a hare over a 412 metre (450-yard) distance. He is a frequent visitor to Ireland and owns a house outside Killarney, Co Kerry.