See article below. Lots of interesting questions and issues.

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Sam Houston horses test positive for doping
02/18/2003

By GARY WEST / The Dallas Morning News


Six horses that raced at Sam Houston Race Park on Jan. 16-17 have tested positive for erythropoietin, commonly known as Epogen or EPO. Paula Flowerday, the executive secretary of the Texas Racing Commission, confirmed the positives Monday.

EPO has been classified as a Class 2 drug, which means, according to the Association of Racing Commissioners International, that it has "a high potential to affect performance" and is "not generally accepted as therapeutic." A trainer whose horse tests positive for a Class 2 drug can be suspended for as much as a year and fined as much as $2,500.

But in the Houston cases, there will be no fines or suspensions, Flowerday said. The only test for EPO identifies the presence of antibodies produced by the drug, not the drug itself. And if EPO had been administered months ago, perhaps when the horse was in another state or in another trainer's care, the antibodies would still be present.

Flowerday said the tests were part of "a trial" to determine if Texas racing has a problem with EPO. "We're trying to get a handle on this and let the owners and trainers understand what this is," Flowerday said.

EPO is a synthetic hormone that stimulates the production of red blood cells, which transport oxygen. In other words, EPO has the potential of increasing stamina.

There will be no fines or suspensions in the Houston cases, the Texas Racing Commission said.

But EPO is a human hormone, and a horse's immune system recognizes it as foreign. In horses, EPO might enhance performance, but it can also lead to extreme anemia and even death.

The trainers and owners whose horses tested positive will be notified, Flowerday said. But for the moment the names will not be released.