KICK UP
EXPOSING THE CRUEL REALITIES OF HORSE RACINGFACT CHECKED | PEER REVIEWED
Horses used for racing are victims of an industry that is rife with drug abuse.
Scandal after scandal sends shockwaves through the entire horse racing industry, opening up a massive public conversation about the systemic animal cruelty and performance-enhancing drug abuse that is as much a part of the horse racing culture as champagne and fascinators.
There is “no doubt” that five racehorses that failed drug testing were injected with the banned performance-enhancing substance cobalt chloride, according to the racing integrity commissioner in the state of Victoria..
While Racing Victoria was still investigating what happened to the horses trained by Peter Moody, Mark Kavanagh and Danny O’Brien, the commissioner, Sal Perna, said the focus would not be on whether the horses were doped but “how, by whom, and when”.
Five horses had returned positive samples, Racing Victoria said. Lidari, prepared by Moody, the trainer of legendary sprinter Black Caviar, failed a test after finishing second in the Turnbull Stakes at Melbourne’s Flemington track in October. – The Guardian [Read the article here.]
Australia: Several of the nation’s top stables are using the same illicit performance-boosting drug that has riddled bike racing since the 1990s, according to angry trainers and veterinarians.
Some of the biggest names in racing have said that sophisticated drug cheating has become rife among well-known stables.
Some trainers were using variants of the opiate-based stimulants such as “elephant juice”, which became notorious when the distressed Rocket Racer collapsed and almost died after literally bolting ahead of the field in the Perth Cup. [Read the article here…]
Let’s start with a little history about horse trainer Darren Weir — credit: RACENET.
It includes everything from using banned and abusive “jiggers” on horses, to falsely identifying horses, to having horses test positive for illegal substances, and using abusive language towards a trackwork supervisor. A more comprehensive list of violations and guilty pleas dating back to 2010 may be found here.
JOCKEY, OWNER & TRAINER ALL CHARGED. BETTING, ABUSE & FAILED DRUG TESTS
[Jockey] Mitchell allegedly made and/or facilitated 311 bets on Australian thoroughbred races through a betting account last year between May 26 and December 14.
Under the Australian Rule of Racing it is an offence for a jockey or apprentice jockey to bet, or have interest in a bet, or facilitate a bet, on any thoroughbred race in any jurisdiction around the world.
[Horse owner] Pratt faces 17 charges in relation to the care and welfare of horses.
Four of the charges pertain to allegedly failing to provide the necessary veterinary treatment to horses, while 13 relate to adequate nutrition of horses in his care.
[Trainer] Walters’s matter relates to a positive swab taken from the horse Fifth Husband after the gelding won a Benchmark 58 at Nhill last December.
The post-race urine sample contained Lignocaine, a local anaesthetic, which is a prohibited substance on race day.
