The New Jersey Racing Commission has informed The Meadowlands and the Hambletonian Society that all blood tests of horses entered in the $4.9 million Breeders Crown races Saturday were negative.
Compliance with the NJRC and the Hambletonian Society's out-of-competition testing rules were a condition of entry in the Breeders Crown races. All blood samples that were drawn were quickly processed at the New Jersey Equine Testing Laboratory.
The NJRC recently approved regulations to conduct out-of-competition testing for blood doping agents such as EPO (epogen) and DPO (darboepoetin) in racehorses competing at New Jersey racetracks. EPO, or Epogen by its brand, is believed to increase the number of red blood cells by allowing more oxygen to enter the muscles, reducing fatigue. Human athletes have been known to use the drug. Out-of-competition testing was applied during the 2007 Breeders Crown at The Meadowlands and the 2007 Breeder's Cup World Championships, raced at Monmouth Park.
The Breeders Crown out-of-competition rules as specified in the racing conditions were used for the first time in September 2007 at Mohawk Raceway, in co-operation with the host track, Woodbine Entertainment Group.
In addition to the standard blood gas testing on all winners and "specials", all winners and of Breeders Crown races will be subject to the "Super Test." New Jersey authorities have authorized the special test, which screens for hundreds of drugs and metabolites.
The Society is a supporter of the Racing Testing and Medication Consortium.
(NJSEA)
It's great to see some
It's great to see some positive news about drug testing... all we ever get to see is the negative stuff.
It would have been nice to
It would have been nice to see this same headline in Lexington. Instead the positives for EPO were swept under the rug and covered up. The guilty trainers kept their purse money and the cheaters are given immunity. The public has a right to know who tested positive for EPO and whether their records are legitimate.
Send this article to every
Send this article to every newspaper in Ontario. Heck why not North America?