By Tom LaMarra

The racing and breeding industry in North America is devising a plan of action to accommodate the British Horseracing Authority’s zero-tolerance policy for the presence of anabolic steroids in Thoroughbreds.

The issue was discussed during the Feb. 3 Consignors and Commercial Breeders Association symposium at Keeneland in Lexington for the benefit of consignors, breeders, and owners that may purchase young horses at auction and ship them to Great Britain, or send racehorses abroad to compete. Dr. Scott Stanley of the University of California-Davis reported on the progress of hair-sample testing for steroids and other substances.

The policy in Great Britain was enacted after two highly publicized cases in which racehorses tested positive for anabolic steroids, particularly stanozolol. The BHA policy states a horse during its lifetime never should be given anabolic steroids and, if a racehorse tests positive, it will be banned from training for 12 months.

“That would be a career for a lot of horses,” Stanley said of the length of the ban under the policy, scheduled to take effect March 1. “I’ve spoken to sale companies to try to get ahead of this. The vast majority of horses would be tested before going overseas to give the buyer or seller confidence, but we have yet to determine the most appropriate way to go.”

Though the United States enacted a ban on anabolic steroids on race day and at auctions more than five years ago, the drugs are allowed to be administered for therapeutic purposes. However, Maryland in December and January experienced a rash of racehorse positives for stanozolol, which is now only available through drug compounders.

“Anabolic steroid use is still a serious concern,” Stanley said. “When used without (veterinary) supervision, they can have a lot of detrimental side effects.”

The Kenneth L. Maddy Equine Analytical Chemistry Laboratory, Stanley said, is fine-tuning the use of mane and tail hair samples for drug testing. He said each hair stem has its own blood supply, and drug residue remains permanently in hair in most cases.

The collection and testing, Stanley said, is far more labor intensive than for urine or serum. Therefore, the turnaround time for results is longer.

Stanley estimated it would cost a seller or buyer more than $500 to test a hair sample from a horse before it is shipped to Great Britain. And, he noted, the BHA probably won’t accept the results of tests its laboratory doesn’t perform.

“We also don’t know the BHA policy on other things that may be detected (in samples) while testing for steroids,” Stanley said.

Bayne Welker of the CBA said the BHA policy is very ambiguous, and that consignors, breeders, and owners will need to wait for some clarity.

“The best we can do now is service the majority of the market we sell to, which is North America,” he said.