Doping in Horse Racing: Prohibited and/or Controlled-Medical Substances and Rules of Limiting the Doping Substances

Abstract

The word “doping” is derived from the Dutch word “dopen”, used by the Dutch migrants in Southern Africa for the first time. Doping substances are mainly used to increase the performance, delay or remove the exhaustion, increase the stability and the frequency of the training, ease/prevent the anxiety and excitement affecting the overall performance, inhibition of pain (muscle, joint, tendon etc) which would eventually affect the speed and the movement, harmonization of locomotor system (musculoskeletal system) with better performance and even hide/tarnish the identification of the subtance (drugs) screened in urine/blood samples. Doping administrations are intentional; where stimulants, analgesics, opioids, anabolics, 2-adrenergic compounds, expectorants-mucolytics, diuretics, glycocorticoids and many other substances are mainly used. Some of these compounds are found naturaly (boldenon, estranediole, hydrocortizone, carbondioxide, testosterone), some in their feed/crude feed (dimethylsulfoxide, methoxityramine, salicillic acid) and even some are found coincidental (arsenic, cobalt). Doping is a deception, where it thwarts the fair play, equal chance, competition elements, social values and impeaches the reputation and respectability and even contravenes the national and international legislations. Doping, disrupts the physiology and health of the animal and may cause permenant changes in the musculoskeletal system which would eventually shorten the racing period of the horses and cause sudden death. Dissuasive and serious regulations are introduced by national/international organizations, including our country, regarding the prevention of the use of doping including the penalties (administrative, juridical, monetary) given to individuals (involved in the care, feding and training) and the horse involved in the violations. In this article, the basic information including definition of doping, prohibited- and controlled-medicinal substances and restrictive/preventive rules would be addressed.