DRUG CHEATS IN HORSE RACING | Thebigtip

As long as the human race is still here, there will be someone trying to get the easy bucks, one way or another.

Anyone who says different is in denial (not in Egypt either!) and/or are playing Ostrich with their ‘heads in the sand’.

Sure the authorities are trying their hardest to catch these people, but the harder they try, the more inventive the cheats gets. Australian stewards are ever vigilant with the newer breed of cheat but people are still trying to import drugs through airports and snail mail. Even with all the detector’s, drug sniffer dogs, x ray, machines and hundreds of trained personnel , who are trained to look for these guys they still have a go. It seems to me like just plain madness but of course where money is involved people will try anything!
 
Bring In The Dogs.. EPO - is it being used in racing?
 
EPO, Eprex, Epogen , Aranesp are all legitimate medications and also form a group of drugs referredto as “blood doping? agents.
 
Are these available?

I sat in front of my trusty computer, went on line, typed in “Epogen purchase” and Googled within 00.06 seconds,10 online pharmacies, that were willing to sell me EPO without a prescription.

One Canadian Pharmacy even had a vile for $120.78 AUD (so are they selling to Aussie?) I believe any licensed medical person (Vet or Doctor) can acquire these agents (which of course they would not do for reasons other than for the practise of legitimate medicine). The official line is “that there is no legitimate use for EPO in racing animals and it is thence a prohibited substance”. Even having some in the stable is against the rules.
 
Can it be detected in samples? It has been found before but apparently is not easy to detect. They (analysts)  are more likely to find EPO in swabs that are taken away from race day. ie. random swabbing practises.
 
Does it have an effect?. Of course it does,  on the right horse! Which horse? The horse that is not getting enough oxygen (has breathing and or lung problems).
 
How would I know, if a horse has been on EPO before I acquired it? Very difficult, but at least some are known to develop Polydipsia and Polyuria (drink excessively and pass excessive urine) which is normally ‘rare’ in horses. Why? When they are on EPO their blood becomes very thick and they need extra fluid to keep it thinning. Suspected EPO using trainers would sometimes have two buckets of water waiting to rapidly rehydrate them after racing or a work out, but in saying that it is normal practice to offer a horse a small drink after a race. ( approx 5 – 10 lt.)

Anyhow once this habit develops some horses can continue with this abnormal behaviour even after treatment is finished, and continue when moved to a different stable and trainer.

Again I've heard about a  horse that would drink from the floor of the hose down (couldn't wait for the bucket) after work, and another that would literally ‘drag’ the strapper back to the water bucket after work and racing and yet another that drank 70 litres /day...... in winter!!.

All three horses lost all form when transferred from one stable to the next. Of course there can be legitimate medical reasons for Polydipsia and Polyuria occurring which should always be investigated first. I had one myself that drank excessively after a race physically shove half his head in the bucket, but this one was a suffer of exercise induced bronchspasm “EIB” (another story) .

It would appear that there are some more and some less cunning users / cheats. Some quickly build phenomenal strike rates with just about all their horses and quickly come under the scrutiny of the stewards. Smarter ones seem to pick and choose a select few for the optimal return in betting and stakes, and slide under the radar. Horses going from experienced trainers that are not dills! And getting improved on (there are some valid reasons for that also) on a very regular basis of course also draw the stewards attention!

Three proposals

1) Freeze samples like the AFL so when detection gets better the crooks can get the front page headlines they deserve!

2) Collect hair or hoof wall samples for later testing. Hoof takes between 9 and 12 months to grow from the coronary band (top or head) to the ground bearing surface (bottom) and could be tested in the same way that Phar Lap was tested 78 years after his death from arsenic poisoning (a drug of that era) that was taken from mane hair samples.

3) Bring in the dogs! If they can train dogs to sniff drugs and even money! at airports, then why not EPO in the stable or exuded from the skin of a user. Personally as a trainer I would welcome a visit from a sniffer dog trained to sniff out EPO anywhere or even sniff out a horse that was recently treated. I would have a bowel of Premium PAL and a soft cushion ready to reward it when it?s done!