Is the administration of substances to horses on racecourse premises on the day of a race permitted under the Rules?

  • A horse may not run if it has received anything other than normal feed or water on the day of its race unless permission has been given by a Turf Club Veterinary Officer and sets out specific instructions once the horse is in the racecourse stables.

  • While it is always advisable to check with a Turf Cub veterinary surgeon if in any doubt, the following guidelines apply:

  • It is acceptable to give electrolytes orally after the race.

  • A Turf Club/HRI veterinary surgeon may give special permission to administer a limited number of substances before the race if these are not prohibited substances.

  • Absolutely nothing may be given by injection on the day of a race or while a horse is in the racecourse stables on the days preceding a race without specific permission having been given in advance by the Turf Club /HRI.

  • Only a Turf Club veterinary surgeon or racecourse veterinary surgeon on duty, can take into a stable yard, a prohibited substance or any means of administering a prohibited substance.

    • What powers does the Turf Club have over trainer’s horse transport vehicles at a racecourse?

    Turf Club officials are authorised to inspect any vehicles used to transport horses to or from a racecourse, take samples or custody of any feedstuffs or other materials as necessary and to search persons on licensed trainers’ premises.

    What is the FEI position on Prohibited and Banned Substances?

    Since April 2010 the FEI have introduced an accelerated programme on ‘clean sport ‘and adopted more intensive measures on the administration and use of equine drugs and medications in competition. These measures, called the Equine Anti-Doping and Controlled Medication (EADCM) Regulations, became mandatory for National Federations in January 2012.

    Does the FEI test for substances that are not itemised on the Prohibited Substances List?

    Yes, the FEI is vigilant about the emergence of new substances or unusual trends. If appropriate, the FEI List Group can add any substance thought to be suitable for either category of the list, giving 90 days notice before it would be considered prohibited under FEI Regulations. After the addition of the new substance to the list has come into effect, detection could lead to enforcement action.

    Are the Rules on prohibited substances the same worldwide?

    Unfortunately there is no global harmonization of the rules on doping in horseracing.

    The horseracing international body, the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA) has an agreement in place, to which national horseracing federations around the world are signatories. This ensures harmonisation on a number of matters, including breeding, racing and betting, but unfortunately doping is not one of them.

    As a result, there is a splintered approach to out of competition testing, with different governing bodies in different jurisdictions adopting different approaches, for example in the use of steroids in training.

    The policies and laws on medication in horse racing in the USA show marked differences between the different states. Unfortunately there appears to be an unwillingness to progress this positively, with only four of the 38 States in the USA enforcing the national uniform medication programme.

    What is the position regarding the use of steroids in racing in Ireland relative to other countries?

    The rules in relation to the use of steroids varies greatly between horse racing nations.

    Ideally it would be in the interests of all horse breeding/racing nations to have an agreed common medication policy in order to reassure and encourage new investors, owners and breeders into the sport. Unfortunately this is not the case:

    In Ireland there is a zero tolerance policy imposed by the relevant authorities on the use of steroids in training or in competition. This also includes substances such as peptide hormones and beta-2 adrenoceptor stimulants, not prescribed by a veterinary surgeon.

    The logic behind such a ban is that there is little point banning certain types of substances in competition so as to protect the essence of “fair play” when a horse that is clean on race day has had the long term benefit of a substance-enhanced training regime.

    UAE Dubai: Since the decree of Sheikh Mohammed, racing in Dubai is now planned to be rigorously policed. The import, sale, purchase and use of steroids in all equine sports in the United Arab Emirates is outlawed and the use of all anabolic steroids on sport horses will be a criminal offence.

    The above rules are in contrast to the racing authorities rules in some countries such as the US (and formerly Australia, NZ and the UAE), which allows the use of anabolic steroids in training. Other drugs such as lasix, bute, corticosteroids, etc, are permitted 24 hours prior to racing in US where the rules vary widely from state to state within the 38 individual states that regulate racing.

    As regards other substances allowed in training in Ireland, certain substances other than steroids are not permitted in competition/racing but are allowed in training.

    These categories of drugs include those that are widely used in equine treatment, for example Lasix, a diuretic used to treat bleeders. This can be administered during training but must not be in the horse’s system on the day of a race, i.e. the withdrawal time must be observed.

    Published withdrawal periods for such drugs allow trainers to calculate when they can administer relevant treatments to a given horse with the expectation that the substance will no longer be present in the horse on the day of a race.

    Are there any changes in these rules predicted in the international racing world?

    The recent announcement that the governing bodies of international racing (IFHA) and equestrian sports (FEI) are to work together on welfare issues for competition horses will help to progress these matters in a more positive direction. The recently formed International Horse Sports Confederation (IHSC) plan to work together towards common goals on horse welfare, which is to include medication policies and training methodologies on horses.

    However, an international approach would still need an international code and provisions for its enforcement which would have major financial implications in terms of establishing and enforcement. Although some of the wealthiest people are involved in racing worldwide, the regulatory bodies have historically suffered from underfunding and have been limited by their lack of resources.

    Those involved in the regulation of horseracing will openly acknowledge that the finances and resources required to implement and enforce out of competition testing on the scale required is simply impossible in the current regulatory framework.

    However, the enhanced protocol (already mentioned) is to be implemented by the Turf Club from January 2015 as part of their accelerated programme.