League Notes: Australian Horse Racing Stewards Given New Drug-Testing Powers

The Australian Racing Board said on Tuesday that horse racing stewards will have the power to "test horse handlers suspected of being under the influence of drugs or alcohol under new regulations." Any "trainer, strapper, vet or barrier attendant will be required to agree to a test to detect alcohol in excess of .05, cannabis, amphetamines, ecstasy and cocaine as a condition of their licence." A "positive test to a banned substance would attract 'substantial penalties'" (THE AGE, 7/1). ... Singaporean businessman Ding Si Yang was "found guilty of supplying prostitutes" to football officials in exchange for "fixing matches." The conviction "comes after a syndicate based in Singapore was named in a European probe as being responsible for rigging or attempting to fix 680 matches" from '08-11. FIFA is "probing games played in the last World Cup build-up by 2010 host South Africa," which it says appears to have "been manipulated with possible links to convicted Singaporean match-fixer Wilson Raj Perumal" (BLOOMBERG, 7/1).