by Frank Angst

As more states move to adopt model rules that will ban anabolic steroids in race horses, experts acknowledge that many horsemen will have to adjust.

After the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium recommended a few policy changes in its model rule on steroids Wednesday, several of its members participated in a panel discussion during the RCI’s annual convention on Wednesday in Austin, Texas. They acknowledged that many horses in training currently are given steroids.

Scott Stanley, associate professor in charge of equine drug testing at the University of California at Davis, said his lab currently tests for anabolic steroids even though that state is still in the process of adopting steroid rules.

“We are doing anabolic screening and what we’ve seen is steroids are being used more in Thoroughbreds than any other breed,” Stanley said. “They certainly are frequently used. I’d say one out of ten is probably the rate we’re seeing.”

RMTC Executive Director Scot Waterman said a recent study showed that 60% of horses raced with at least one steroid in their system and 15% raced with multiple steroids.

The model rule on steroids bans all anabolic steroids in race horses, although boldenone, nandrolone, stanozolol, and testosterone are allowed to be used on horses out of training. If use is truly limited to that purpose, RMTC Chairman Bobby Lewis believes withdrawal times will not be especially important for anabolic steroids.

“I have treated horses with steroids and the times they’re beneficial are for injured, or debilitated horses. These are sick horses, or horses who have just come out of surgery,” said Lewis, who also is a veterinarian. “There’s no way I could see any of these horses entered in a race for several months.”

RMTC Secretary Rick Arthur believes that many horsemen request steroids just because they do not want a rival to have an edge. While eight states have adopted steroid bans and many more are currently moving toward adopting the model rule, Arthur speculates that trainers may find out that they did not truly need steroids once the bans become reality.

Arthur said the benefit seems to be that horses are able to train harder while on steroids but that harder training is likely leading to more injuries, including catastrophic breakdowns. Because of the apparent steroid-enhanced benefit of being able to train harder, Stanley suspects steroids are used more often in claiming horses than in stakes horses. He said tests from big stakes days in California rarely yield any steroid positives.

Kent Stirling, executive director of the Florida Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, said the new recommendation that states adopting the model rules allow a 90-day grace period where horsemen are essentially warned about any positive steroid tests as opposed to being punished, is a positive step that will allow trainers to adjust while withdrawal times are developed by the RMTC.

Lewis said some of the resistance is just fear of change.

“People are so used to doing what they have done for so long, it’s like throwing ice water on them,” Lewis said, adding that the 90-day grace period and development of withdrawal times will help horsemen stay within the rules. “I feel like we’re giving horse people a bone with some meat on it.”

Frank Angst is senior writer of Thoroughbred Times