British Horseracing Authority bans Gordon Elliott horses until Irish investigation concludes

It comes just two weeks before the Cheltenham Festival is due to get under way on March 16

Trainer Gordon Elliott at Cheltenham racecourse in 2018. Photo by Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images

Gordon Elliott will not be permitted to have runners in Britain until the conclusion of an Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board investigation into an image on social media that showed the Grand National-winning trainer sitting on a dead horse on his gallops.

Racing authorities in Britain and Ireland have condemned the image, which Elliott confirmed in a statement on Sunday evening was genuine, apologising “profoundly for any offence that this photo has caused”, while seeking to explain what he said was the context of events that led to the photograph.