BHA Will Review Anti-Doping Rules

A full review of the sport's equine anti-doping rules will be conducted by the British Horseracing Authority, the BHA announced late Wednesday evening. The motion was approved by the regulator's Board on Monday after receiving a briefing on the impact of recent decisions involving anti-doping cases in racing by the new independent disciplinary panel introduced in 2017. However, the recent rulings have called into question some of the assumptions that have been made across the sport about the obligations on those responsible for the welfare of horses and the penalties for breaking the anti-doping rules.

The BHA has decided a review is necessary in an effort to achieve clarity for all participants, whilst maintaining the commitment to fairness and providing appropriate deterrent to wrong-doing. The review will involve consultation with the National Trainers' Federation (NTF), the Racehorse Owners' Association (ROA) and other member associations as appropriate and will be completed in 2018.

“Leading trainers and the NTF have frequently repeated their support for zero-tolerance of prohibited-at-all-times substances,” said the BHA's Chief Executive Nick Rust on Wednesday. “The BHA agrees that this is the right approach to adopt if racing is to maintain credibility with the betting and viewing public and ensure a level playing field for participants. We need to ensure that our rules are clear about what zero-tolerance means for the obligations on those responsible for horses and the penalties when the rules are broken. We want our rules to be fair to all concerned, from trainers who have done nothing wrong through to the punters who need to have confidence that racing is clean.”

He added, “We need to make sure that there is an appropriate deterrent for those who might consider cheating, so that we can protect the interests of their fellow participants–trainers, owners and riders–and the betting public. We welcome the contribution to the sport from our independent panels and the impartial scrutiny they have brought to the sport's rules and disciplinary processes. We believe the panel's decisions will help racing clarify and improve our anti-doping rules. It is important for our participants and for our investigative and disciplinary processes that there should be clarity to these rules and consistency to the penalties applied.”