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Aidan O’Brien says he “had no choice” but to withdraw his four horses from Sunday’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in Paris.
They tested positive for a prohibited substance, which is suspected to be in a contaminated food batch.
The Irish coach was set to race Mogul, Japan, Serpentine and Sovereign in Europe’s richest race, which Enable aims to win for a record third time.
His sons Joseph and Donnacha also withdrew horses from Sunday’s game.
A total of 11 horses trained by the O’Brien family will be absent from the meeting, and Aidan said the decision was made after consulting with Coolmore’s powerful owning team.
“Everyone got together and the guys had a good talk. To protect the integrity of the races, we felt we had no choice but to withdraw the horses,” he told Racing TV on Sunday.
“The ramifications and costs are staggering. They put so much into trying to make this happen, I am so sorry for the guys.”
A statement from O’Brien’s Ballydoyle Racing on Saturday said urine samples taken from the racers on Sunday had tested positive at a French laboratory.
“There is a possibility that the pollutant has left your system at the time of Sunday’s race, however we have no guarantee of this,” he said.
British trainer Roger Varian, who had been using the same food supplier, GAIN Equine Nutrition, withdrew his seven planned runners from Saturday’s meetings.
In a statement on Sunday, the company said it was “hugely disappointed” with its clients in the Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom, France and elsewhere.
“Intensive testing of our equine feed ranges, batches and individual ingredients has been conducted 24 hours a day since this problem emerged in France,” he said.
“We continue to work closely with all appropriate agencies, including the Irish Department of Agriculture, to thoroughly investigate the source, nature and extent of this contamination.
“We are also in close contact with the horse racing regulatory bodies.”
On Friday night, the likelihood that Aidan O’Brien’s running backs would compete in the ParisLongchamp match was questioned.
France Galop announced that five horses had tested positive for the banned substance Zilpaterol, which was suspected to be in contaminated feed for the animals.
O’Brien’s two runners in France on Saturday were allowed to run after urine samples sent to the Irish Equine Center came out clean.
But his contenders for the Arc had yet to get the go-ahead, and the withdrawals will throw a cloud over a long-awaited encounter.
O’Brien’s Arc Favorite Love was taken out earlier in the week after heavy rains left the official going very soft.
The absence of her quartet leaves Enable, Frankie Dettori’s mount for British trainer John Gosden, in front of 10 rivals, with the peloton reduced from 15 to 11. She is now the overall favorite for a historic success.
O’Brien also removed St. Mark’s Basilica from the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere, as the family-trained horses were removed from a total of three other Group One races.
Joseph O’Brien was to be the main contestant Pretty Gorgeous at the Prix Marcel Boussac, while Fancy Blue will miss the Prix de l’Opera for Donnacha.
