If A-Rod Was a Horse, He Wouldn’t Be Allowed to Race
LEXINGTON, KY - New York Yankees star
Alex Rodriguez is the latest example to surface underscoring how the “no
doping” policies in horse racing are tougher than other sports that deploy a
process to allow the hidden use of performance enhancing substances in
competition.
“If Alex Rodriguez was a horse he
would not be allowed to race,” said Ed Martin, President of the Association of
Racing Commissioners International.
According to a new book by Tim Elfrink
and Gus Garcia-Roberts, "Blood Sport: Alex Rodriguez, Biogenesis and the
Quest to End Baseball's Steroid Era", the baseball great was granted
permission from Major League Baseball (MLB) in 2007 to play while receiving
prohibited treatments of testosterone.
“Other sports and the Olympics allow
therapeutic use exemptions which allow athletes to compete under the
undisclosed influence of prohibited substances if they apply with the required
medical request. In racing, we require that horses be scratched and not allowed
to participate. It’s a big difference that many people overlook,” Martin said.
According to the book, 1,354 MLB
players were tested in 2007 and exemptions to 111 players were allowed by the
league to compete with undisclosed prohibited performance enhancing substances.
“Those who bet on baseball games in
Vegas may want to shift their action to racing,” Martin said, noting that
Furosemide is the only substance allowed in a horse on race day and its use is
almost ubiquitous in North America and disclosed to the public in the program.
While acknowledging that horse
racing, like every sport, has a drug challenge, Martin said racing has a very
aggressive anti-doping program and does not permit the undisclosed backdoor use
of prohibited substances. “The Therapeutic Use Exemptions that were granted
Lance Armstrong for the 1999 Tour de France and Alex Rodriguez would never be
approved in racing. Are we concerned about the use of legal substances in
horses being trained? Absolutely. But we test for them and a host of other
things in post-race samples. If we find them at levels that can affect
performance, charges are brought. As far as doping is concerned, it is not
allowed.”
