New York takes steroid action

The New York State Racing and Wagering Board on Thursday approved a proposal that would regulate the administration of anabolic steroids in Thoroughbreds and Standardbreds who race in the state, although the rule will need to pass several regulatory hurdles before it can go into effect.

The rule would restrict the use of anabolic steroids to one of four approved forms of the drug, although those could not be administered within 30 days of a race. The rule is based on a recommendation by the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium which has been endorsed by the Association of Racing Commissioners International. The rule has already been adopted in 10 states, and is in the process of adoption in a dozen more.

The New York rules will be forwarded to the Governor's Office of Regulatory Reform, which will need to review and approve the rules before they are posted for a 45-day public-comment period. Then the rules will need to be reviewed and approved again by the racing and wagering board before formal implementation.

Under the rule, concentration levels have been established for the four permitted anabolic steroids - stanozolol, boldenone, nandrolone, and testosterone. The levels allow a certain amount of the drug to be present in a horse's postrace urine sample, in order to take into account the ability of tests to detect the drugs outside of the 30-day window.