The UAE's Emirates Racing Authority "has no plans to test the Godolphin horses still in Dubai," which previously were in the care of trainer Mahmoud Al Zarooni, according to Geoffrey Riddle of THE NATIONAL. According to Godolphin Racing Manager Simon Crisford, Al Zarooni revealed that he was responsible for giving "fewer than ten horses" in pre-training anabolic steroids during early winter in Dubai. The former Godolphin trainer assured Crisford that those horses remained in Dubai, "and that the same two foremen and vet's assistant that assisted Zarooni in Newmarket were also involved." The ERA has not been made aware of which horses were given the drugs, "as the use of anabolic steroids is permitted outside of competition in the UAE." An ERA spokesperson said, "There is no need to test them. The substances in question are not prohibited when used out of competition and for therapeutic purposes in the UAE. It is the responsibility of the trainer to keep full medical records. These records should be available for ERA officials to view at any time, but trainers are not required to inform the ERA when these substances are administered" (THE NATIONAL, 5/8).
HAVING THE AUTHORITY: In a separate article, Riddle also wrote the British Horseracing Authority "could prevent any horse that has run or has been trained in Dubai from competing under its jurisdiction in Great Britain if they have reason to believe it has benefitted from the administration of anabolic steroids." The BHA "require the connections to all overseas runners to fill in a form detailing the full medical history of horses in their care before those horses are permitted to compete" (THE NATIONAL, 5/8).
