The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 letter word BUTE
B
U
T
E
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Evidence of horse-doping" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case evidence of horse-doping = bute.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does BUTE mean?
BUTE noun- Phenylbutazone.