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03-08-2012, 02:20 PM
http://static.stuff.co.nz/1331097226/841/6539841.jpg FAIRFAX NZ
EXPERT: Dr Andrew Grierson
The Judicial Control Authority has fined Wyndham horsemen Gordon and Colin Lee $600 each and instructed them to pay costs of $2000.
The Lees, who train in partnership, had two of their horses test positive to the prohibited substance boldenone _ an anabolic steroid.
Swabs were taken from Surreal Moment (June 23) and Lite Bourbon (July 12) at Forbury Park meetings. Surreal Moment went to the swab box after winning a maiden trotters' race and Lite Bourbon headed there following his sixth in a maiden pacers' event.
Invercargill crown solicitor Mary-Jane Thomas, who acted on behalf of the Lees, told a JCA hearing in Dunedin on December 19 and February 9 that mouldy oats were to blame for the presence of boldenone in both horses.
Samples of oats from the Lees' stable were found to contain boldenone when tested by food safety and biosecurity services company Asure Quality. The tests were done at the request of the Lees.
The discovery was the first documented occasion that boldenone had been detected in horse feed in New Zealand. Before the laboratory tests, the position of the Racing Integrity Unit was that the boldenone could not have been introduced to the horses other than by way of an intra-muscular injection.
The RIU's counsel, Chris Lange, consulted with equine veterinarian Dr Andrew Grierson, who in an affidavit said: ''In my opinion, based on current scientific knowledge, the positive swab for boldenone for Surreal Moment and Lite Bourbon could have arisen from an intra-muscular injection. However, an oral source of boldenone cannot be ruled out''.
Lange also sought an opinion from Dr Geoffrey Beresford who is the racing analyst and general manager of New Zealand Racing Laboratory Services Limited. It conducts the testing of urine samples.
Dr Beresford said in a statement: ''It cannot be scientifically excluded that the contaminant in the feed could elevate boldenone in a horse's urine''.
Murray McKechnie, the chairman of the JCA committee that heard the case, said he and colleague Timothy Gresson were unable to determine how the boldenone got into the systems of Surreal Moment and Lite Bourbon.
''The committee accepts that there is no evidence of any direct involvement by either of the defendants.''
In addition to the Lees being fined, Surreal Moment and Lite Bourbon have been disqualified in the Forbury Park races.
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(http://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/sport/racing/6539836/Mouldy-oats-blamed-for-positive-swabs#comments)
EXPERT: Dr Andrew Grierson
The Judicial Control Authority has fined Wyndham horsemen Gordon and Colin Lee $600 each and instructed them to pay costs of $2000.
The Lees, who train in partnership, had two of their horses test positive to the prohibited substance boldenone _ an anabolic steroid.
Swabs were taken from Surreal Moment (June 23) and Lite Bourbon (July 12) at Forbury Park meetings. Surreal Moment went to the swab box after winning a maiden trotters' race and Lite Bourbon headed there following his sixth in a maiden pacers' event.
Invercargill crown solicitor Mary-Jane Thomas, who acted on behalf of the Lees, told a JCA hearing in Dunedin on December 19 and February 9 that mouldy oats were to blame for the presence of boldenone in both horses.
Samples of oats from the Lees' stable were found to contain boldenone when tested by food safety and biosecurity services company Asure Quality. The tests were done at the request of the Lees.
The discovery was the first documented occasion that boldenone had been detected in horse feed in New Zealand. Before the laboratory tests, the position of the Racing Integrity Unit was that the boldenone could not have been introduced to the horses other than by way of an intra-muscular injection.
The RIU's counsel, Chris Lange, consulted with equine veterinarian Dr Andrew Grierson, who in an affidavit said: ''In my opinion, based on current scientific knowledge, the positive swab for boldenone for Surreal Moment and Lite Bourbon could have arisen from an intra-muscular injection. However, an oral source of boldenone cannot be ruled out''.
Lange also sought an opinion from Dr Geoffrey Beresford who is the racing analyst and general manager of New Zealand Racing Laboratory Services Limited. It conducts the testing of urine samples.
Dr Beresford said in a statement: ''It cannot be scientifically excluded that the contaminant in the feed could elevate boldenone in a horse's urine''.
Murray McKechnie, the chairman of the JCA committee that heard the case, said he and colleague Timothy Gresson were unable to determine how the boldenone got into the systems of Surreal Moment and Lite Bourbon.
''The committee accepts that there is no evidence of any direct involvement by either of the defendants.''
In addition to the Lees being fined, Surreal Moment and Lite Bourbon have been disqualified in the Forbury Park races.
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(http://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/sport/racing/6539836/Mouldy-oats-blamed-for-positive-swabs#comments)