Britain banning shippers who trained on steroids

Beginning on Jan. 1, 2009, all foreign-trained horses meant to run in Britain must be declared as not having been trained on non-therapeutic substances, the British Horseracing Authority announced on Monday. Most notable among the banned substances are anabolic steroids.

Trainers of horses not trained in Britain will have to declare formally that their horses have not been training on non-therapeutic substances. The British racing authority is eager to seek cooperation from foreign racing authorities in having horses tested for the banned substances in their home countries before traveling to Britain, where they will be tested again by British officials before being allowed to race.

Any horse who tests positive under the new regulations will be banned from running in Britain. The announcement comes after some British trainers complained that Australian horses at Royal Ascot may have been trained on steroids before having arriving in Britain.