Racing: Level playing field vital for racing

Australia was colonised by criminals and New Zealand by clergymen. It's an old line, but with a little truth.

It helps explain why Australia is one of the world's great gambling nations.

And why chemical enhancement of racehorses has always been more prevalent in Australia.

For reasons of the punt. The desperate punt.

We are not talking generally here because the management of illegal substances in racehorses at the top end in both countries these days is extremely sophisticated.

The bad old days were different. Drug testing racehorses in New Zealand started in 1950.

Suddenly, many of the trainers who had been hogging the headlines disappeared. There was no mystery.

Arsenic was the biggie pre-1950. In the right amounts it was a stimulant for a race and for post-race recovery.

It is almost certainly what killed Phar Lap, despite all the hoo-ha about being deliberately poisoned by persons unknown.

The likely scenario is Phar Lap copped the wrong dose.

Horses given arsenic often lost their coats when spelled.

The catch-cry is that anything that affects the speed, courage, stamina and conduct of a racehorse is deemed to be an illegal substance.

They essentially fall into two categories: go-fast substances and those that mask pain.

Caffeine was widely used even at times after 1950.

"Caffeine is still racing's greatest stimulant," says chief racecourse detective John McKenzie, "but because it's so easily detected it is rarely used."

Phenylbutazone, or bute as it's known, is a powerful anti-inflammatory that kills pain in horses.

"Years ago it was given to horses that were lame and they were able to continue racing, but because the pain was masked it led to leg fractures during races, which is a shocking sight for racegoers."

Many American states still allow horses to race on bute, but have come under pressure for the horrific injuries suffered during races. Some states have banned its raceday use.

Almost all drugs on the above lists are deemed illegal only on raceday. Even anabolic steroids are given to developing horses, and those a number of months out from racing, which is perfectly legal.

No trace must remain on raceday.

There are long lists of drugs administered to horses for myriad reasons every day, all of which have a withholding period, and veterinarians have become expert in judging that knife-edge timeframe.

But there will always be the cheats.

McKenzie admits that the chemists developing designer go-fast drugs are always a step or two ahead.

"We always play catch-up."

The reason is that when an unknown substance - one previously not detected - is found in a sample, the analyst has to first determine the chemical make-up of the substance then establish if it is a stimulant or a painkiller.

Then threshold levels have to be put in place before it can be deemed illegal.

That can take an extended period, by which time the illegal chemists can move on to the next "new" substance.

There have been some notorious substances.

A couple of decades ago, probably the worst ever, "elephant juice", appeared in Australia.

Almost literally it could make horses run through brick walls and the image of Australian racing will forever be stained by the image of Rocket Racer having to be manhandled from the birdcage after winning the Perth Cup.

Later, to no one's surprise, he tested positive to elephant juice.

"Harness racing recently had its 'blue magic' that, thankfully, didn't spill over into galloping," says McKenzie.

Milkshaking is a controversial issue.

The high bicarbonate levels help to eliminate lactic acid in muscles and in massive doses it is regarded as illegal. There has always been the suggestion the bicarb could mask other more serious drugs.

New Zealand galloping has never returned a positive to bicarbonate, but it would be nonsense to suggest it has never been used.

McKenzie says New Zealand's analyst and laboratory are among the most respected in the world.

"Dr Geoff Beresford is a past president of the international committee of racing analysts and vets."

Laboratories continually test each other.

"We send overseas and receive ourselves 60 to 80 test samples. Some are spiked, some not.

"It's up to the receiver to test whatever is in the sample, or whether there is anything at all. We have never been found wanting in our judgment."

A horse was once found to have returned a positive to heroin, the source of which was later discovered to be the horse munching on poppy plants over a fence.

Remember Kotare Chief's runaway Auckland Cup victory in the early 1980s?

He returned a positive to hordinine and everyone said "no surprise".

But when eight other horses returned the same positive the same week it was discovered a feed merchant had included willow branches and leaves in commercial feed supplied to stables.

Willow is the source of hordinine, which is not considered illegal when ingested, but is illegal when administered by other means.

McKenzie says it's not uncommon for trainers to consult racecourse detectives over others possibly using questionable substances.

"Why wouldn't they? Why would a trainer want to get up at 4am and work their butt off and go to the races and be beaten by a trainer who got up at 8am and beat him because he used something illegal?

"There's no fairness in that. Everyone wants a level playing field."

Not quite everyone. And that's why there will always be testing.

In Monday's story on drugs in riders it was said a South Island trackwork rider returned one of the highest positive tests to cannabis at 770 mls per litre of urine. It should have read 1770 mls.