Barry Irwin Wrote:
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[i]First of all, studies done on female horses that
were administered steroids showed conclusively
that while they may have exhibited male behavior
after initially being retired to the breeding
paddocks, their fertility was no different than
distaffers that raced without them.[/i]


What about male horses? There are definitive studies in human males that show that prolonged use of anabolic steroids greatly reduce sterility and/or produce infertility. Why would any horse owner with valuable male breeding stock administer AS, risking loss of millions of dollars at stud?

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[i]My problem with battling steroids is that I think it will shift the focus from the real danger in racing, which is designer or newly developed drugs.
[/i]

I think this is a mis-perception.

Designing new and more potent AS is trivial once you understand the chemistry (my field) and a burgeoning industry in human athletics (see weight lifters,cyclists and Olympic athletes for example). IMO, you can't separate new designer drugs for [i]other classes[/i] of performance enhancing drugs from the drug class called "anabolic steroids". If I wanted to cheat in today's environment (not caring about future breeding issues), AS drugs would be the easiest and most potent way to go, given their intrinsic performance enhancing abilities and that they are not now banned. Designing a "new" one would be trivial when and if they do become banned.

Dr.Fager 1:59.40/135 lbs