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29 Apr 13
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• BHA refuses to release form clarifying Black Caviar matter
• There are different rules regarding steroid use in Australia
Chris Cook The Guardian, Monday 29 April 2013 20.39 BST
Racing's ruling body has refused to release a form in its possession which would clarify whether Black Caviar was ever trained on steroids before winning at Royal Ascot last year. The great Australian mare, who recently retired unbeaten after 25 races, had her name dragged into the debate over steroid use at the end of last week when the British trainer Roger Charlton used Twitter to ask if she had been "treated with anabolic steroids during her career".
British-based trainers are prohibited from using such steroids on horses in training, which is why Mahmood al-Zarooni was banned for eight years last week, but there is no such rule in Australia, where the requirement is simply that any steroids be out of their system on the day of any race in which they take part. Some British trainers now have concerns over allowing Australian runners here, since the benefits of steroid use can last much longer than the drug itself.
For several years trainers of horses from overseas who wish to run in Britain have been required by the British Horseracing Authority to complete a form, either confirming that the horse has never been given anabolic steroids or detailing the occasions on which such drugs were given. Overseas runners are also subject to routine testing before racing.
Will Lambe, the BHA's head of external affairs, asked if he could release the form relating to Black Caviar which was presumably signed by her trainer, Peter Moody, last summer, said: "We don't comment on individual cases or details of our dope-testing programme unless the matter warrants a disciplinary hearing.
"There is no evidence to suggest that horses trained from outside Britain competing in this country have done so with the benefit of anabolic steroids. There has been no positive for anabolic steroids. If there was one, the horse in question would be barred from running in the race for which it was entered
• There are different rules regarding steroid use in Australia
Chris Cook The Guardian, Monday 29 April 2013 20.39 BST
Racing's ruling body has refused to release a form in its possession which would clarify whether Black Caviar was ever trained on steroids before winning at Royal Ascot last year. The great Australian mare, who recently retired unbeaten after 25 races, had her name dragged into the debate over steroid use at the end of last week when the British trainer Roger Charlton used Twitter to ask if she had been "treated with anabolic steroids during her career".
British-based trainers are prohibited from using such steroids on horses in training, which is why Mahmood al-Zarooni was banned for eight years last week, but there is no such rule in Australia, where the requirement is simply that any steroids be out of their system on the day of any race in which they take part. Some British trainers now have concerns over allowing Australian runners here, since the benefits of steroid use can last much longer than the drug itself.
For several years trainers of horses from overseas who wish to run in Britain have been required by the British Horseracing Authority to complete a form, either confirming that the horse has never been given anabolic steroids or detailing the occasions on which such drugs were given. Overseas runners are also subject to routine testing before racing.
Will Lambe, the BHA's head of external affairs, asked if he could release the form relating to Black Caviar which was presumably signed by her trainer, Peter Moody, last summer, said: "We don't comment on individual cases or details of our dope-testing programme unless the matter warrants a disciplinary hearing.
"There is no evidence to suggest that horses trained from outside Britain competing in this country have done so with the benefit of anabolic steroids. There has been no positive for anabolic steroids. If there was one, the horse in question would be barred from running in the race for which it was entered
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Of course it wasn't positive at the time. This is why athletes are tested all year round. The Aussie horses can quite legally be given steroids when they 're not racing. The BHA knew this but were desperate to get Black caviar to run at Ascot. draw your own conclusions.
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I think it's pretty obvious she's been doped up to her eyeballs throughout her career along with Choisir and Takeover Target to name but 2 others. Let's hope we make the rules clear and simple, if you've not got a clean passport you're not welcome. And let's hope Khaled Abdullah doesn't let Black Caviar anywhere near Frankel.
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shirley the size of her testicle were a giveaway?
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BHA could tell you--but they would have to kill you first
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A very cleverly worded statement from Will Lambe.
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don't tell MATT,he loves this horse
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So whats new...
We have always bent over backwards in this Country to run ourselves down so that the rest of the World has an advantage.. If it not fretting about "Global Warming" (now called "Climate Change") and wasting vast sums of money on alternative energy that will never work we have an open doors policy that lets anyone in but cannot get anyone out.. Madness..... |
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Looks like the game is finished down under anyway
.. Horse Racing - Randwick spat casts shadow over racing Down Under Australian horse racing has lurched into the headlines again following a very public split between thoroughbred owner John Singleton and high-profile trainer Gai Waterhouse at the weekend amid allegations of insider information. Reuters http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com Singleton withdrew all seven of his horses under Waterhouse's supervision on Sunday, a day after a televised spat between the pair at Sydney's Royal Randwick where the 71-year-old businessman's runner More Joyous disappointed with a second-to-last finish in the Group One All Aged Stakes. Singleton, a long-time racing stalwart Down Under, accused Waterhouse of telling her bookmaker son Tom that More Joyous was not fit for the 1400-metre race and that Tom had told people the six-year-old mare could not win it. Singleton said he felt More Joyous, which finished four lengths behind behind race favourite All Too Hard, should not have run and attacked the relationship between his trainer and her bookie son. Tom Waterhouse denied the allegations and threatened Singleton with legal action. He also told local media he had lost A$85,000 ($87,400) on the race and that if More Joyous had won, he would have won more than A$300,000. Racing New South Wales, the industry's governing body in the eastern Australian state, have launched an inquiry into the allegations. Waterhouse fronted stewards after the race and disclosed that the horse had been treated with an antibiotic for a possible infection in the leadup, local media reported. "There is a rule that requires a trainer to report a condition, not that will affect, but may affect a horse in a race," Racing NSW chief steward Ray Murrihy said in comments published by The Australian newspaper's website (www.theaustralian.com.au) on Monday. Racing officials will hold a hearing on Friday. Nick Xenophon, an independent senator, has called for the government to get involved and examine the horse racing industry in greater depth. "I think the allegations made here are so serious ... you need something to clear the air," he told Australia's Seven Network. "The best and fairest way to deal with this is an inquiry with judicial powers." The spat has brought more unwanted attention on Australia's beleaguered horse racing industry, which was rocked by a wide-reaching police probe late last year into race-fixing in the southern state of Victoria that swept up prominent jockeys and cast doubts over the sport's integrity. |
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Waterhouse family has always been dodgy, old news this
read: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fine_Cotton riveting stuff |
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Golden Rivet SC?
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pretty obvious really , and even more shameful the BHA refuse to release the facts which are in the interests of owners trainers and punters alike.
But they are not going to scupper international competition from these shores are they so silence is the best way No more aussie sprinters will race on these shores again |
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Every Australian runner over there has signed up to the approval of your racing industry that doesn't allow drug use, and let them in.
That says enough in itself. Obviously there is no issues. Either that, or your industry is that corrupt that it overlooks it. Either way, doesn't help your obvious rubbishing arguments. |
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^ That still does not rule out, though, the possibility/probability that Black Caviar - and many others - may well have been enjoying Steroids for breakfast, every day, whilst '*Spelling'
* Spelling is an Australian terminology for a period between a set of races .... for our English readers. After all - one of the eulogies and praise heaped upon Black Caviar is that ...... She looks like - and is BIGGER than - many a colt. |
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So is Susan Boyle, but has anyone questioned her?
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So after all the positive talk of her coming back for Ascot and having a dalliance with Frankel, the timing of her retirement is very convenient....a little too convenient
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So you are saying that Peter Moody knew that the English were pumping their horses full of steroids and about to turn the industry upside down?
What a ridiculous thing to say. Our rules have been known for a long time, hence why they have to sign forms to race in your country. And really, if all our horses are on steroids "for brekky, lunch and tea", then she wouldn't be bigger than the colts, because they would benefit more than her and be huge. You guys are reaching pretty hard.... |
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Do they have to declare that they have been used in your country? Are they tested at all out of competition? Honest questions, really don't know. If the answer is no then all anyone has to do is sign a declaration - what does that prove?
And you don't think its possible that an Aussie head of the BHA may have given a nudge to say what news was about to break? |
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Australian sprinters have enjoyed success over here with sprinters due to the fact that they have benefited from the use of steroids....i didn't think there was anybody that doubted
that....the thoroughbred hasn't changed a lot in the last 100 years or so.....now think of the monstrosities that the Aussies have brought over like Black Cavier,Chosir,Scenic Blast and ask yourself do they look like any thoroughbred you've seen before? As Mark Johnson once said about Scenic Blast.....how can they get a moderate NH sire [scenic] and produce a gr1 winning sprinter?.....i guess they are just better trainers than us....  |
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About time that we had an International Standard ruling on this, then. Either phase out steroid use, or stick to what's currently permissible in Australia.
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Agree with Harry the rules should be the same in all jurisdictions, no drugs whatsoever period unless a horse is sick and requires treatment.
In Black Caviars defence she wasn't really gaining an advantage with her 24 wins in Oz, if you believe that all Australian trainers use steroids as a rule in training, good for the goose and all that.... |
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Anabolic steroids are detrimental to the long term health of the horse so whether Australia comply with the UK's stance on the use of the drug or not accepting what is currently permissible in Australia can never be considered an option in European racing even if it gives Aussie horses an advantage. Rather than ask their trainers to "detail the occasions" on which the drugs were applied, and there's no doubt the drugs were applied, tell them sorry but under no circumstances can horses ever treated with anabolic steroids run in the UK.
Black Caviar's use of steroids is a non story. The British racing authorities were desperate to get her to run at Ascot knowing full well how they train their horses in Australia. They had no problem putting European runners at a disadvantage then so why is it an issue now? Godolphin broke the rules and godolphin got caught. Rather than deflecting opprobrium to the unbeaten Aussie champion why not question how credible it is that a man who has been accused of kidnapping and enslaving children to race camels in his tacky little country and whose police force was in the news yesterday for torturing British citizens would have a problem with doping horses? The Maktoum family and the obsequious BHA should be under the spotlight here, not Black Caviar and Peter Moody. |
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So lets hear the science, and a typical training regime for Australian horses then, since you all seem to know so much?
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That's like saying Lance Armstrong shouldn't have been in the spotlight as he never gave a positive test......utterly ridiculous. She has been proclaimed by Aussies as the best horse in the world. If she has been given steroids in the past, it is a story.
If she hasn't then so be it |
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logic dictates that if one trainer is artificially improving his horses with the legal use of anabolic steroids then others would be mad not to do the same.
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BJT I haven't a clue. I didn't know until the Zarooni story broke that horses were allowed steroids in other countries - assumed they were banned everywhere.
You tell us the science and the training regime and if it involves steroids, justify it |
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if Lance Armstrong's use of steroids had been legal he would not have given a positive sample.
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The point is he never gave a positive sample irrespective if it was legal or not. But it was still a story
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A few photos to ponder over........
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Lance Armstrong ran "the most sophisticated, professionalised and successful doping programme that sport has ever seen" that's why he didn't give a positive sample (although perhaps occasionally he did and it was covered up?).
Aussie trainers don't have to resort to subterfuge, they have just have to have it out of the system by race day. |
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should point out the lass in that bottom photo is 6 foot 2....black caviar was a giant!!!!
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Flo-Jo the world's fastest female or a cynical cheetah on two legs? Although she was dogged by rumour and innuendo throughout the final years of her tragically short life which ended at the age of 38 in 1998, the secret of how Florence Griffith-Joyner was transmogrified from also-ran into Olympic champion died with her. Only she and those in her immediate circle knew whether she truly was a wonder woman or a steroid-guzzling cheat whose heart gave out after years of drug abuse.
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yes i agree with all of that. So the fact it was legal( if BC did have steroids )doesn't make it a story?
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Precisely. No one was bothered with Black Caviar's training regime until godolphin got caught breaking the rules so why has it become a story now? All it does is deflect attention away from the actual transgression.
Even the wording of the disclaimer shows the BHA were only ever concerned with covering their arses. |
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Precisely. No one was bothered with Black Caviar's training regime
Have you seen any of the thousands of threads on BC over the last 3 years - ok nobody has said anything in the meeja but they can't can they? If Aussies want to use steroids and if we want to take on their horses over there then fair dos but obv international racing has to be a level playing field. |
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The majority of those thousands of threads were positive. She was a global superstar and people were desperate to see her run at Royal Ascot.
She never broke any rules. I totally agree that international racing has to be a level playing field but inviting horses to race here while knowing they have treated with steroids elsewhere hardly gives off a zero tolerance vibe. |
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I think we are being treated like sheep. How come this news comes out minutes after BC is declared a non runner at Ascot and immediately retired. Is this coincidence or are we being put away?
Did the BHA know anything about the AZ steroids before BC ran at Royal Ascot last season? If this news had come out before Royal Ascot last season would the reaction to BC coming have been different? This just seems oh so cosy for the BHA it cannot just be coincidence. |
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Exactly
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brigust1 nails it,it stinks tbh.
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