australian-racing-0719
Stewards close net on new drugs
Sydney Morning Herald:
STEWARDS are on high alert for the presence of synthetic erythropoietin, or EPO, in spring contenders after the Australian racing rules were amended on the eve of the carnival.
Concerns are rising in racing circles about the use of ITTP and AICAR, which are closely related to EPO. From next month, stewards will have the power to carry out retrospective tests on frozen samples.
''The rules were changed in the past couple of weeks, so that if ITTP or AICAR is found at stables, it will mean a disqualification,'' Racing NSW chief steward Ray Murrihy said. ''And it will be a long one.''
Murrihy said challenges existed when testing for EPO substances. There has been a test to establish for ITTP, while laboratories are close to establishing a threshold level for AICAR, which has been described as ''exercise in a pill''.
AICAR has been widely used in international cycling and in March Colombian doctor Alberto Beltran Nino was among 10 arrested in an investigation into the next-generation drug in Spain.
Murrihy told the Herald that there was information about its use in racing, particular in North American harness circles, and authorities had to move.
''We have been freezing samples for a number of months and can test them when we have the technology to measure the levels,'' he said. ''There have been a number of warnings about AICAR issued. The problem with it is that it is naturally occurring in the system, which made it hard to get baseline in humans but for horses it will be a different story. We are told that [the test] is not far away.''
Racing NSW stewards have been making spot stable checks in the past month, and all samples have been kept for further testing. It is believed Racing Victoria stewards are taking similar precautions, so the drugs will not be a blight on the spring carnival.
Murrihy said AICAR had been of concern to stewards around the world for some time. ''At the Asian Racing Conference in July we sat down and talked about it,'' Murrihy said. ''Racing NSW has spent $1 million getting ourselves in a position to keep samples, and we have been developing tests for drugs like AICAR.''
17 Comments | 1 decade ago
Recent Comments
RIO 21 Sep | Posts: 14798
I personally like RIO's comments but do take offence at his overuse of the exclamation point!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!WTF?!?!?!?!?!?! there are variations too......like full stops instead of commas.....will try to use more emoticons Rad,my little Katoi :> :-h ...
Radman 21 Sep | Posts: 1936
I personally like RIO's comments but do take offence at his overuse of the exclamation point!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
RIO 21 Sep | Posts: 14798
Probably what RWWA thought would happen, but no one checked with KBRC to make sure it would go that way..But unless an enquiry is held...a proper one..nothing will be done to identify the problem and put into place good process to ensure the saem problem doesn...
TheDiva 21 Sep | Posts: 11782
I think you'll find it would have been easier to hold the race until power was restored. Im told it was only about 3-4 minutes of lost power. We've held races for a lot longer than that in the West (ie Winterbottom)
RIO 21 Sep | Posts: 14798
Very similar situation..a wrong was done and the owners and punters have to wear it..and the service provider just sits on it hands...shrugs its shoulders and says....ummmmmmmmmm there's not much we can do about it, how about we say sorry will that help????? ...
Aquanita 21 Sep | Posts: 553
By the way Carey I totally agree that the events of the Kalgoorle race were unacceptable and there should be transparency and accountability I am also sure that those punters that unknowingly backed unplaced horses after the race had been run were relieved to...
Aquanita 21 Sep | Posts: 553
Glad to see you are still going strong Carey, don't know where the WA racing industry would be without your insightful oversight.
carey 21 Sep | Posts: 6229
you're under attack lately rio!perhaps you could ask aquanita if he could guess how many people LEGITIMATELY backed donneytime at kal and had to wear just getting their money back.or how many trillions the tab has stolen off their customers through breakage.or...
RIO 21 Sep | Posts: 14798
If they did i'd never post again...so maybe they should!!!!!! Your right of course - which is always the best way to take the emotion out of the argument...but i was sort of making the point in relation to stakes money....And i'm sure TSS was making the ...
Aquanita 21 Sep | Posts: 553
TSS and RIO surely you don't think the TABs and bookmakers Australia wide should be required to pay out on the subsequent winner after a horse is disqualified for a positive swab. They have already paid out on correct weight on the horse that was disqualified ...