Racing chiefs put to test over doping
IHR board defends its record on drugs
The Irish horseracing Regulatory Board launched a staunch defence of its record on drug testing before an Oireachtas committee yesterday.
Members of the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine put questions to Horse Racing Ireland chief executive Brian Kavanagh, IHRB chief executive Denis Egan and IRHB chief veterinary officer Dr Lynn Hillyer.
The meetings were arranged following concern over claims by trainer Jim Bolger that racing would have its own “Lance Armstrong” moment regarding drug use.
It began with Mr Kavanagh reading out an opening statement in which he stressed the importance of the racing industry to Ireland’s economy and “so the issue of drug testing is an important one with significant funds invested annually in this area”.
He also reported all winners in Ireland are tested, there has been an increase in out-of-competition testing and tests are also carried out at sales, studs and point-to-point meetings.
He said: “Spending on doping control has increased by 27% in the last four years, and Horse Racing Ireland has advised the IHRB that funding will never be an issue for meaningful initiatives to improve capability or increase capacity in this area.”
Mr Egan stated: “The IHRB’S Equine Anti-doping programme has developed into a sophisticated and extensive risk-based and intelligenceled strategy, in which it is not just the numbers of samples which matter but from what horse they are taken, where and when.”
Mr Egan also addressed accusations that the IHRB had not acted upon information they were given by a reported whistleblower.
He added: “Any information received by us is assessed, categorised and actioned as appropriate. We have a top-class anti-doping team headed up by Dr Lynn Hillyer – and while we
It’ll not be tolerated, we will continue to seek it out DENIS EGAN YESTERDAY
continue to evidence that there is no systematic attempt to cheat through doping in Irish racing, we will continue, with the assistance of the industry and those outside, to effectively detect, disrupt and deter such behaviour. It will not be tolerated – we will continue to seek it out – and where discovered, we will take all actions within our power to combat it without fear or favour.”
Like Mr Egan, Ms Hillyer took issue with the claims of inaction.
She said: “We need to differentiate between information coming in and hearsay. I’m not saying we disregard either, but we have to process it and assess it – that is basically converting information into intelligence, and we work very closely with the
BHA now.”