Ohio Harness Horsemen's Association

New York Adopts Steroid Rule

October 15, 2008

New York will ban all but four anabolic steroids in racing by Jan. 1 and those be allowed in only minimal amounts, officials said Tuesday.

State Racing and Wagering Board Chairman John Sabini made the announcement in New York, where the National Thoroughbred Racing Association is scheduled to unveil a major integrity and safety initiative. New York becomes the 17th state to adopt such rules and 12 more are expected to come on board by year's end.

"The goal is get all 38 racing states to adopt this by Jan. 1," said Jack Knowlton of Saratoga Springs, managing general partner of Sackatoga Stable. "We're just getting in line with what an awful lot of other states have done. We're kind of in the middle of the pack I would say. California has kind of been the leader. Kentucky has done it.

"There seems to be a real spirit of cooperation here."

The Ohio State Racing Commission adopted new integrity regulations on Sept. 17. For the first time ever, steroids have been banned from Breeders' Cup races, scheduled for California's Santa Anita Race Track on Oct. 24-25.

"This is serious stuff," Sabini said. "The industry as a whole is really coming down very hard on this."

In New York, violators will be subject to $5,000 fines and license suspensions, he said. Racing and Wagering Board member John Simoni of Charlton said, "A diet of hay, oats and water should be our goal. My hope is that this is the beginning of no steroids in racing."

The rules apply to thoroughbred and harness tracks.
New York Racing Association, which operates Saratoga Race Course, had told state officials it wanted new steroids rules in place by next spring.

"We're thrilled and are very supportive of their efforts, and we're going to work closely with them to get the testing protocols in place," NYRA President and CEO Charles Hayward said. NYRA was recently awarded a new 25-year contract to run Saratoga, Aqueduct and Belmont Park, where the Belmont Stakes - third leg of the Triple Crown is held.

Saratoga Gaming and Raceway spokeswoman Rita Cox said, "We work with the Racing and Wagering Board on maintaining the level of integrity in the sport (harness racing). We will absolutely work with them to make sure this is regulated here."

Currently, there is no national racing regulatory body. Each state regulates itself. The rules, however, mirror standards advanced by the Kentucky-based Racing Medication Testing Consortium.

Executive Director Dr. Scot Waterman said he believes steroids can be used for therapeutic purposes, such as helping horses with poor appetite gain weight. New rules are designed to prevent their abuse - racing performance-enhancement.

"There are anabolic steroids that are approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for use in horses, so the answer to the generic question is yes there are legitimate therapeutic uses for anabolic steroids in horses," he said. "The RMTC board, however, does not feel there is a legitimate therapeutic use for an anabolic steroid in a horse that is race fit and within 30 to 45 days of a race."

Four steroids that will still be allowed in minimal amounts are Winstrol, Equipose, Durabolin and testosterone. In one of the year's most high-profile cases, trainer Rick Dutrow admitted that Big Brown had been given Winstrol regularly before winning the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes.

He took the horse off the Winstrol prior to the Belmont Stakes, in which he finished last in a shocking upset.

Popular local harness driver-trainer John Stark Jr. said he had used steroids in the past, primarily with older horses.

"We've used them sometimes when blood counts are really low," he said. "It boosts their system up. I've got a lot of young horses now. We don't use them at all. We knew the ban was coming. It started with baseball."

"We knew it was going to come to our sport eventually."

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New York Adopts Steroid Rule