Doping control analyses in horseracing: a clinician's guide.

Abstract

Doping(1) in sports is highly detrimental, not only to the athletes involved but to the sport itself as well as to the confidence of the spectators and other participants. To protect the integrity of any sport, there must be in place an effective doping control program. In human sports, a 'top-down' and generally unified approach is taken where the rules and regulations against doping for the majority of elite sport events held in any country are governed by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). However, in horseracing, there is no single organisation regulating this form of equestrian sport; instead, the rules and regulations are provided by individual racing authorities and so huge variations exist in the doping control programs currently in force around the world. This review summarises the current status of doping control analyses in horseracing, from sample collection, to the analyses of the samples, and to the need for harmonisation as well as exploring some of the difficulties currently faced by racing authorities, racing chemists and regulatory veterinarians worldwide.