Holy royal racehorse scandal!

Queen Elizabeth II’s prized racehorse, Estimate, who won first place in the Gold Cup in 2013, has tested positive for the banned drug morphine, Buckingham Palace announced Tuesday.

“On Thursday, July 17, the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) announced that a number of post-race samples, obtained from recent race meetings, had been found to indicate the presence of morphine, which is a prohibited substance on race days. Five horses, under the care of various trainers, were affected,” said John Warren, the Queen‘s bloodstock and racing advisor, in a statement.

“I can confirm that one of those horses was Estimate, the five year-old filly trained by Sir Michael Stoute and owned by The Queen. Initial indications are that the positive test resulted from the consumption of a contaminated feed product,” he said.

Yea, right — and surely Lance Armstrong ingested his banned drugs from Gatorade.

Oh dear! Queen Elizabeth II's winning racehorse — Estimate — tested positive for morphine: http://t.co/aocUtLJSQl pic.twitter.com/dObW9CfTwM

— Us Weekly (@usweekly) July 23, 2014

“There will be no further comment until the BHA announces its considered findings. Her Majesty has been informed of the situation,” said Warren.

According to the statement, Estimate’s trainer Stoute will be “working closely” with the feed company to determine how the horse’s food could have been contaminated with the performance-enhancing drug.

If the allegations prove to be true, Queen Elizabeth would have to forfeit her $80,625 prize winnings and Estimate would be stripped of her titles this year.

One would imagine the Queen won’t miss that pocket change, considering her estimated worth is $500 million.

Queen Elizabeth's racehorse tests positive for banned painkiller morphine http://t.co/UQgTa3eobS pic.twitter.com/6pOYISZRHr

— CBC News (@CBCNews) July 23, 2014

However, it may be awkward for the Queen to show her face at Ascot next year.

Image via Wikimedia Commons