JR Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Mr. Irwin,
>
> I'm not sure if I posed this question to you
> earlier. Could you please share with us your
> knowledge of the use use of anabolic steroids in
> thoroughbred race horses. Is its use nonexistent?
> Isolated? Widespread? And, do you attribute any
> improved performance due to the use of anabolic
> steroids? Finally, can you identify any trainers
> who administer anabolic steroids to their horses?
>
> Thank you.

JR,

I know you posed this question to Mr. Irwin and I as well as you would like to hear his answer. Perhaps you missed my post where I excerpted 2 quotes from a recent DRF article. Here they are again.


[i]The American Graded Stakes Committee, which is overseen by the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, moved to add the anabolic steroids to the post-race testing regimen after receiving reports that anabolic steroids were present in at least half of the post-race samples of horses that won 30 graded stakes last year, according to Andrew Schweigardt, the secretary of the committee and an official of TOBA.


The regulation of steroid use has become a major topic of discussion in the U.S. racing industry in the past 18 months. The U.S. is the only major racing jurisdiction in the world that allows the unregulated use of anabolic steroids, which can build muscle mass, restore a horse's appetite, and help horses recover from strenuous exercise.
[/i]