VAN ZYL FINED R110,000 ON DOPE CHARGE

Barry Irwin Wrote:

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> 1. Congratulations to the racing officials for
> taking a hard stand. They are to be commended.
> 2. Cheating with drugs generally has little to do
> with abusing known drugs that are listed by the
> racing authorities.
> 3. The most effective ways to cheat with horses
> are a) increase number of red blood cells to
> deliver more oxygen to the lungs; b) buffer lactic
> acid to suspend horses from slowing down in the
> latter stages of a race; and c) use steroids to
> build muscle mass and allow horses to train and
> race harder while recovering quicker.
> 4. So called "dope" used to mean stimulating a
> horse. First of all, this is too easy to detect,
> so it is too risky to use. Secondly, too many
> horses freak out on it and their behavior become
> unreliable.
> 5. I once asked the most famous cheating
> veterinarian in the modern history of racing in
> the United States what would be his drug of choice
> to cheat with and, surprisingly, he mentioned a
> tranquilizer, because it relaxed a horse and
> allowed it to run its race. So so much for
> uppers!
> 6. The top cheaters in the game use drugs that are
> not yet known to racing authorities. These are
> either designer drugs, such as were developed by
> an American chemist and distributed by the
> infamous BALCO lab in San Francisco on such
> athletes as Marion Jones and Barry Bonds, or drugs
> that have been developed by major pharma to treat
> human beings with heart, lung and kidney ailments.
> The cheaters get these products in early days and
> abuse them before the authorities find out. An
> example would be EPO. Usually the ones involved in
> doing this sort of thing are pharmacists,
> veterinarians and some owners.
> 7. What van Zyl and his vet did was not uncommon.
> They probably were just not careful enough. Van
> Zyl most likely is not a cheater, but it behooves
> him to be extra careful given his record, because
> he could lose his license.


point 6 of barry irwins post sums up the situation that is rife in this country ...

Ja. They all rocket scientists with access to designer drugs for junkie horses trying to win midweek maidens. Such crap.

i think too soon we make the excuses for the guys who got caught. why do some trainers never get a positive wile others got many? the other day at the vaal i here louis goosen never been a positive, so why gvz who train for a short time?

Flash Harry Wrote:

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> i think too soon we make the excuses for the guys
> who got caught. why do some trainers never get a
> positive wile others got many? the other day at
> the vaal i here louis goosen never been a
> positive, so why gvz who train for a short time?

EXPERIENCE....GVZ still green.....remember MDK in his earlier years.....:S

hi new 2 forum.muhti i rememember mdk was warned off if found guilty again after his 3rd doping offence.im not sure think it was spooks expresss.anyway i dont think gvz tried 2 cheat he just inexperienced and believed the vet.he will learn from his mistakes like mdk did.lol

Do not be too quick to blame the vet. It is most likely that the vet gave the trainer the guidelines and it was the trainer's decision when to run the horse, not the vets.

Over the years, there have been plenty of trainers that ran horses in stances exactly like this.

It is all about managing risk.

Guarantee you that next time a situation like this arises, the trainer gives the horse a bit more time before running it after it has been treated.

But in real life, as I said in my previous post, stuff like this is not really cheating, it is poor management.

The real cheating takes place with the other stuff I mentioned. That is the stuff one be concerned about, because when this stuff comes to light, it hurts the image of racing with fans, non-fans and participants alike.

One only has to look where athletics and cycling are today as compared to an earlier era in terms of a) public image and b) lack of participation from athletes that have lost their will or interest to compete against cheaters that have an edge.

The interesting thing about cheaters is it doesn't matter what the drug is, or whether one drug or any set of drugs is banned--your real sicko cheater will look for the next one down the line.

Until cheaters are banned from any sport, that sport will suffer.

I doubt very much this was an 'intentional" cheat..no trainer would actually think that he/she would not get caught..sometimes its all about the timing of the race which goes wrong..most horses are medicated and some excrete the substance slower or faster than others..if the horse excretes slower than expected you will pick something up in the blood.

well said Barry

blueyonder001 Wrote:

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> well said Barry
ditto

Barry Irwin Wrote:

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> Until cheaters are banned from any sport, that
> sport will suffer.

Did we have any trainer banned for doping in SA?

Tero Wrote:

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> Barry Irwin Wrote:
>

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>

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> > Until cheaters are banned from any sport, that
> > sport will suffer.
>
> Did we have any trainer banned for doping in SA?

Kobus Roux was the most recent trainer warned off racing

Thanks Soodum