For all the positive attention horse racing has received over the last month due to the entertaining Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, the sport is suffering through a negative stretch, mostly involving a suspended trainer.
Banned by the British Horseracing Authority last month after 11 of his trained horses tested positive for anabolic steroids, Mahmood Al Zarooni is under the microscope once again. As The Times of London reports, seven additional horses trained by Al Zarooni recently tested positive for stanozolol, a form of anabolic steroids.
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Al Zarooni -- who was training through the Godolphin racing organization -- was slapped with an eight-year ban after he admitted to administering banned substances to horses at his stable in Newmarket, England.
According to United Press International, a total of 391 horses owned by Godolphin were tested for illegal substances between April 29 and May 2, with 22 coming back positive, meaning they were injected with steroids. All 22 horses are said to be suspended for six months, beginning from the date their initial blood samples were taken.
The current situation surrounding Al Zarooni and Godolphin training has certainly not been taken lightly as the BHA is prepared to do anything in order to maintain the integrity of the popular sport.
"These test results endorse the swift action and measures taken by the BHA in this matter," BHA chief executive Paul Bittar told Yahoo News.
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Al Zarooni has already filed an appeal against his ban and though it is not likely the sanction will be overturned, Bittar notes that no other actions will be taken before the appeal date is set, but he feels strongly they made the right decision to remove the trainer from active duties.
"Whatever the outcome of his appeal before the independent Appeal Board, the gravity and scale of the infringements warranted Mahmood Al Zarooni being removed from control of the yard as quickly as possible," Bittar noted to Yahoo News.
Of the 11 most-recent horses to test positive, 2012 St Leger winner Encke is perhaps the most notable.
With 25-1 odds entering the race, Encke ran a powerful competition from start to finish, paving the way for the victory while knocking off previous favorite Camelot, denying the horse a chance to win a Triple Crown.
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Mahmood Al-Zarooni began training with Godolphin in 2010. In addition to guiding Encke to the 2012 St Leger title, Al-Zarooni won the Dubai World Cup last March.
While his training pedigree has certainly delivered winning horses in recent years, many will begin to wonder if there were more improperly trained horses in addition to the 20-plus horses recently said to be injected with illegal substances.
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