Licensed trainer Mahmood Al Zarooni has been informed he will be required to attend a Disciplinary Panel hearing on Thursday 25th April at 2:30pm at 75 High Holborn, London, to consider possible breaches of the Rules of Racing as follows:
Rules (C)50 and/or Rule (C)55
Prohibited Substances – Strict liability of trainers
and/or
Prohibited Substances – Positive test of sample taken at training premises
1. Whether breaches of Rule (C)50 and/or Rule (C)55 have been committed by Mahmood Al Zarooni, a Licensed Trainer, by virtue of the samples taken from all or any of the following horses (being horses in the care or control of Mr Al Zarooni) on 9th April 2013 testing positive for the prohibited substance Ethylestranol:
(a) GHOSTFLOWER (IRE)
(b) SWEET ROSE
(c) VALLEY OF QUEENS (IRE)
(d) FAIR HILL
(e) DESERT BLOSSOM (IRE)
(f) CERTIFY (USA)
(g) ORKNEY ISLAND
2. Whether breaches of Rule (C)50 (Prohibited Substances – Strict liability of trainers) and/or Rule (C)55 (Prohibited Substances – Positive test of sample taken at training premises) have been committed by Mahmood Al Zarooni, a Licensed Trainer, by virtue of the samples taken from all or any of the following horses (being horses in the care or control of Mr Al Zarooni) on 9th April 2013 testing positive for the prohibited substance Stanozolol:
(a) OPINION POLL (IRE)
(b) ARTIGIANO (USA)
(c) RESTRAINT OF TRADE (IRE)
(d) BATHRAT AMAL (JPN)
Rule (C)13
Duty to keep medication records
3. Whether Mr Al Zarooni is in breach of Rule (C)13 by virtue of his failure to keep a ‘Record of Treatment’ for all or any of the following (namely the administration of Ethylestranol) which included the information listed in Rules (C)13.2.1 to (C)13.2.6 for such treatment:
(a) GHOSTFLOWER (IRE)
(b) SWEET ROSE
(c) VALLEY OF QUEENS (IRE)
(d) FAIR HILL
(e) DESERT BLOSSOM (IRE)
(f) CERTIFY (USA)
(g) ORKNEY ISLAND
(h) COMITAS
(i) SASHIKO
(j) VACATIONER
4. Whether Mr Al Zarooni is in breach of Rule (C)13 by virtue of his failure to keep a ‘Record of Treatment’ for all or any of the following (namely the administration of Stanozolol) which included the information listed in Rules (C)13.2.1 to 13.2.6 for such treatment:
(a) OPINION POLL (IRE)
(b) ARTIGIANO (USA)
(c) RESTRAINT OF TRADE (IRE)
(d) BATHRAT AMAL (JPN)
(e) TEARLESS
Rule (A)30
Conduct prejudicial to horseracing
5. Whether Mahmood Al Zarooni caused or allowed to be administered Ethylestranol, a prohibited substance, to all or any of the following horses under his care:
(a) GHOSTFLOWER (IRE)
(b) SWEET ROSE
(c) VALLEY OF QUEENS (IRE)
(d) FAIR HILL
(e) DESERT BLOSSOM (IRE)
(f) CERTIFY (USA)
(g) ORKNEY ISLAND
(h) COMITAS
(i) SASHIKO
(j) VACATIONER
and as a result breached Rule (A)30 of the Rules of Racing by acting in a manner that was prejudicial to the integrity, proper conduct and/or good reputation of horseracing in Great Britain.
6. Whether Mahmood Al Zarooni caused or allowed to be administered Stanozolol, a prohibited substance, to all or any of the following horses under his care:
(a) OPINION POLL (IRE)
(b) ARTIGIANO (USA)
(c) RESTRAINT OF TRADE (IRE)
(d) BATHRAT AMAL (JPN)
(e) TEARLESS
and as a result breached Rule (A)30 of the Rules of Racing by acting in a manner that was prejudicial to the integrity, proper conduct and/or good reputation of horseracing in Great Britain.
Notes to Editors:
1. Information provided by Mahmood Al Zarooni to the Investigating Officers has revealed that, in addition to the 11 horses which tested positive and were named on 22nd April, a further four horses were administered one of the two prohibited substances. Those horses are: Comitas, Sashiko, Vacationer (all Ethylestranol) and Tearless (Stanozolol). These horses were under the care of Mr Al Zarooni but had not been subjected to testing.
As these additional horses were not tested and no positive samples exist, no charges are brought under (C)50 and/or (C)55 in relation to them and as such the trainer remains facing the original 11 counts of this charge at this stage. However, it is appropriate to charge the trainer with breaches of the Rules related to medication records and conduct prejudicial to horseracing related to these horses, and therefore the trainer now faces 15 counts of these charges.
2. The Panel for the hearing will be: Matthew Lohn (Chair), Hopper Cavendish and Edward Dorrell.
3. Mahmood Al Zarooni will be represented by Gavin Bacon. The BHA will be represented by Graeme McPherson QC.
4. The hearing will not be open to the media.
5. It remains the BHA’s policy that we cannot comment on this ongoing investigation above and beyond formal notices until the hearing has been concluded and results published.
6. Details of the Rules and potential penalties are as follows:
Rules (C)50 and/or Rule (C)55
(C)50: http://rules.britishhorseracing.com/Orders-and-rules&staticID=126634&depth=3
Refer to (C)55
(C)55: http://rules.britishhorseracing.com/Orders-and-rules&staticID=126639&depth=3
Positive sample following Testing in Training
Entry Point: £2,000 or Suspend / Withdraw / Disqualify/ 6 Months
Range: £1,000 – £10,000 or 1 month – 10 years
Rule (C)13: http://rules.britishhorseracing.com/Orders-and-rules&staticID=126597&depth=3
Duty to keep medication records
Entry Point: £500
Range: £250 – £2000
Rule (A)30: http://rules.britishhorseracing.com/Orders-and-rules&staticID=126195&depth=3
Conduct prejudicial to horseracing
Entry Point: £2,000 or Suspend / Withdraw / Disqualify 3 months
Range: £1,000 – £15,000 or 1 month – 3 years
7. Some information regarding the testing of horses in British Racing can be found below:
There are two forms of testing carried out by the BHA in Britain – raceday testing and testing in training.
Raceday Testing
2012:
Number of runners – 90,174
Number of post-race samples – 7,182
Number of positives – 14
Positives as a percentage of runners – 0.19%
2011:
Number of runners – 94,786
Number of post-race samples – 7,619
Number of positives – 13
Positives as a percentage of runners – 0.17%
2010:
Number of runners – 92,025
Number of post-race samples – 7,952
Number of positives – 25
Positives as a percentage of runners – 0.31%
There has been only two other cases of anabolic steroids being recorded in recent years. These are:
1. When veterinary records showed that trainer Howard Johnson allowed horses to run under anabolic steroids in 2008 and 2009.
2. When trainer Kevin Tork failed to ascertain the treatment given to one of his horses while not under his care and subsequently running one horse who had been treated with Stanozolol.
Other positive results invariably involve the use of forms of medication. The use of anabolic steroids is prohibited at all times for any horse registered as ‘in training’ under the care of a trainer licensed by the BHA.
Testing in Training
Between 600-700 tests were carried out in 2012 as part of the ‘testing in training’ sampling programme. There could be a number of reasons why a yard could be idenitified for testing in training but we do not disclose the strategy for this.
The average racehorse population in training at any one time was around 14,000 in 2012.
For more information contact:
Robin Mounsey
British Horseracing Authority
t:02071520048
m:07584171551
e: [email protected]
