Jul 19, 2008 2:59 pm US/Pacific
Board Bans Steroid Use On Racing Horses
DEL MAR, Calif.
The California Horse Racing Board announced Saturday it has banned the use of anabolic steroids on racing horses, a practice blamed for causing injuries leading to the euthanasia of horses after injuring themselves.
The board's newest members, including actress Bo Derek, joined in the unanimous vote at the board's monthly meeting Thursday at the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club's track in Del Mar, the board announced Saturday.
"There is no place for anabolic steroids in competition sports, human or equine," said board chairman Richard B. Shapiro.
The new law will take effect after its language is approved by the governor's office, when horse trainers statewide will be warned that testing will start to detect such types of steroids as testosterone.
The board also banned horses from competing if their owners had surgically deadened the hooves of the animals, a procedure called digital neurectomy or "heel nerving." A board news release said that move is much more controversial than the steroid ban, as it is supposedly opposed by horse owners associations.
Steroid use and the deadening operation supposedly make horses feel less pain and run faster, but are blamed for an increased number of high-profile broken legs and horse killings.
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