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[Definitie:] "An ergogenic aid is any substance or phenomenon that enhances performance."
(Wilmore and Costill) 
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Greyhound dope tests counter fear of racing going to the dogs James Meikle Competition athletes have been known to blame their trainers after testing positive for drugs. But stars of the latest sport to become embroiled in doping really can use that excuse - even if they cannot be heard proclaiming their innocence. Significant numbers of racing greyhounds have fallen foul of a ban on nandrolone, an anabolic steroid illegally used by athletes to increase muscle power. The National Greyhound Racing Club has so far imposed fines of up to £1,000 per dog on trainers, who are often also the owner, and has now issued a warning to vets who may not be familiar with all its rules. Frank Melville, chief executive of the club, is responsible for policing a sport that generates £1.6bn a year in betting turnover and attracts 3.7m customers to tracks. Yesterday Mr Melville warned that for anybody to now use nandrolone "would be mad". Possible penalties include cautions, fines up to £5,000, suspension, or withdrawal of the trainer's licence, or a total ban. Mr Melville, in response to the Guardian's suggestion the £1,000 highest fine so far imposed was rather low, said: "Some people would think that is quite a hefty fine. I think now that if there were nandrolones coming through that had been adminstered recently, the stewards might take a different attitude." The club improved random testing of urine samples last autumn: scientists can now pick up traces of nandrolone, and also of other products produced by the liver breaking down the drug, up to 100 days after it is injected. Of 1,472 bitches chosen at random and tested between October 2003 and May, 42, or nearly 3%, were positive for nandralone or its metabolites, while only two out of 2,322 male dogs (0.2%) were positive. The club, which had previously kept secret the sensitivity of the test, began charging trainers. Since January, there have been 31 positive results, leading the sport's regulators to believe trainers might be getting the message. However, Hazel Bentall, the club's veterinary steward, writing in the Veterinary Record this week, said: "Unfortunately many trainers have been found to be in breach of the relevant rules." There have been long-standing concerns over the drug's frequent, unlicensed use in Britain and Ireland to stop bitches going on heat. But the fact that male dogs also test positive suggests its perceived performance-enhancing qualities might play a part. |
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