The British Horseracing Authority has no plans to prevent the trainers it licenses from using raceday medication while racing abroad, despite being urged to do so by a prominent member of Newmarket’s racing community. John Berry, a trainer who now serves as the town’s mayor, argued during an appearance on At The Races after the Breeders’ Cup that the regulator in Britain should act to protect the sport’s reputation and might, in doing so, encourage racing in the US away from its reliance on raceday medication.
Several British and Irish-trained runners in the major races at Keeneland over the weekend raced on Lasix, an anti-bleeding drug that can be administered on raceday under US rules. In Britain, the drug can be used so long as it clears a horse’s system before the day of any race in which it is to take part.
Since Lasix use is officially declared in US racing, the BHA could decide to act against any trainer making such a declaration, perhaps as an extension of its rules on bringing the sport into disrepute. That would avoid the need to prove that Lasix was ever actually in the horse’s system, which would be logistically difficult.
But the BHA is not minded to act. “It is very difficult to try to impose regulations on races run in other countries which contradict the rules in that jurisdiction,” said Robin Mounsey, the BHA’s spokesman. “It would be overstepping the boundaries of our authority.
“We have world-leading standards in medication control in Britain. This is how we protect the image and reputation of the sport. We have also taken an international leadership role which led to the international minimum standards being introduced and has seen other nations move into line with our own policies.”
John Gosden, who opted not to use Lasix on Golden Horn, runner-up in the Breeders’ Cup Turf, made his feelings on the subject clear by saying on Wedneday: “I’ll just ask this question: Is there any other sporting, competitive activity in the world that permits the athletes involved to be injected with strong medication on the day before and on the day of the race?”
The champion Flat trainer nevertheless felt there was no place for intervention by the British regulator. “The BHA has no jurisdiction to do that,” he said. “Some people from Europe use the medication and that will be the trainer’s and the owner’s decision. The rules are different in different countries and it’s not our job to go policing the world.”
The Yorkshire trainer David O’Meara said he took a lot of advice before deciding to use Lasix on his Mondialiste, runner-up in the Breeders’ Cup Mile. “I’m new to running horses in America, it’s only been Mondialiste so far. I rang a few different people to discuss whether we should be using it and in the end we took a view that we would. I would feel a small bit aggrieved if I didn’t use it and got beaten a head or a neck by someone who had.
“There’s a few more sides to it than just the anti-bleeding. It lowers their blood pressure, it calms them and it tightens them, so you’ve got the same engine driving a lighter frame.
“I don’t know if it’s an issue for the BHA. When you go to another country, the laws are different and you’ve got to abide by them. There are things you can’t do in Dubai that you’re free to do in England and this is no different, to my mind. If everyone has the chance to use it, then at least you’ve got a level playing field.”
