SMH article - Racing "Stewards close net on new drugs"

[True Believer]

Looking for thoughts on what Des Gleeson quotes as "exercise in a pill"?
While the article suggests it to be rampant in the Australian racing industry it does go on to state it's source "it's use in racing, particular in North American harness circles".
Will the system catch up or wih new synthetic drugs being developed or will the industry always be behind the eight ball? The capability to improve quality horses and push them above with what appears to be an enhanced previously undetectable EPO should have people worried in the Gallops especially with frozen samples being retested. I wonder if there will be sleepless nights from harness trainers? What will be interesting to follow is the outcome to the new tests to be carried out by the finely tuned machines at the HKJC labs in the coming months.

[NormanS]

Looking for thoughts on what Des Gleeson quotes as "exercise in a pill"?
While the article suggests it to be rampant in the Australian racing industry it does go on to state it's source "it's use in racing, particular in North American harness circles".
Will the system catch up or wih new synthetic drugs being developed or will the industry always be behind the eight ball? The capability to improve quality horses and push them above with what appears to be an enhanced previously undetectable EPO should have people worried in the Gallops especially with frozen samples being retested. I wonder if there will be sleepless nights from harness trainers? What will be interesting to follow is the outcome to the new tests to be carried out by the finely tuned machines at the HKJC labs in the coming months.

http://www.smh.com.au/sport/horseracing/stewards-close-net-on-new-drugs-20120919-2671y.html

[Thevoiceofreason]

Looking for thoughts on what Des Gleeson quotes as "exercise in a pill"?
While the article suggests it to be rampant in the Australian racing industry it does go on to state it's source "it's use in racing, particular in North American harness circles".
Will the system catch up or wih new synthetic drugs being developed or will the industry always be behind the eight ball? The capability to improve quality horses and push them above with what appears to be an enhanced previously undetectable EPO should have people worried in the Gallops especially with frozen samples being retested. I wonder if there will be sleepless nights from harness trainers? What will be interesting to follow is the outcome to the new tests to be carried out by the finely tuned machines at the HKJC labs in the coming months.

The story which NormanS has kindly provided the link for quotes Ray Murrihy not Des Gleeson but nevertheless an interesting story.

The most interesting point is that RacingNSW who control the purse strings of the Australian Racing Forensic Laboratory have spent the money to upgrade their own equipment in readiness for the tests once they come online.

For those that do not know the ARLF are the chief testing laboratory for Harness Racing in NSW, so no it will not be HK leading the charge but our own homegrown lab.

[True Believer]

That's brilliant news that it will be a home grown lab. Much cheaper to do more testing locally than airfreighting samples. Hopefully leads to shorter turnaround times as well.

[HISGEN65]

interesting read..

also interesting was this extract from a recent Albion Park stewards report

"From Race 6 through to Race 8 that 24 horses were pre race blood tested"

[aussiebreno]

Looking for thoughts on what Des Gleeson quotes as "exercise in a pill"?
While the article suggests it to be rampant in the Australian racing industry it does go on to state it's source "it's use in racing, particular in North American harness circles".
Will the system catch up or wih new synthetic drugs being developed or will the industry always be behind the eight ball? The capability to improve quality horses and push them above with what appears to be an enhanced previously undetectable EPO should have people worried in the Gallops especially with frozen samples being retested. I wonder if there will be sleepless nights from harness trainers? What will be interesting to follow is the outcome to the new tests to be carried out by the finely tuned machines at the HKJC labs in the coming months.
Drug testers will always be behind drug users. Can't create tests for something you don't even know about. Backdated tests, if actually carried out, is the only hope of catching some things.

[Triple V]

Geeze....there's nothing quite like the Troops being quick off the mark is there?

AICAR has been around since at least the mid to late 1980's for crying out loud.

ITPP's a bit more of a recent thing of course, it came to be around about 2005 or so.

Apparently however, according to the article penned by Roosty....ITPP and AICAR are now closely related to EPO:confused::confused::confused::confused: ...which of course THEY ARE NOT.
QUOTE from the article. 'Concerns are rising in racing circles about the use of ITTP and AICAR, which are closely related to EPO'.
Furthermore if anyone had bothered to do even the most modest amount of research into the subject they would have discovered that they are not....but I guess some paid attention during Chemistry & Biology & some just sat up the back playing with the Bunsen Burner taps & carving their initials in the desk top with a Compass. :p

Chemically, AICAR, ITPP & EPO are in no way, shape or form related.

AICAR: C9 H15 N4 O8 P, is an adenosine production stimulating ribonucleotide which acts directly upon/increases the blood flow to the heart/heart muscle. It has been used for many years to assist in maintaining cardiac blood flow/preventing clot formation during human heart surgery.

ITPP: C6 H12 O21 P6, stimulates already existing haemoglobin in the blood to release higher than normal levels (+35%) of its oxygen to surrounding tissue.

EPO: C8 15H 1317 N233 O241 S5, and it is not a chemical at all but rather a protein and a synthetic version of a human protein at that & further...one created by the use of recombinant DNA technology.

Yeh, you're right on the money there Roosty...they're about as closely related as a Whale and a Wasp.

Go sit in the corner along with Terry Bailey & Barry Lichter and their all-time great ITPP contains arsenic clanger. :rolleyes: