Posts Tagged ‘lobelia inflata’

Since then, the Paulick Report has heard of a cluster of positive tests in Pennsylvania for another human drug, the prohibited Class 3 medication bitolterol, which is used in asthma inhalers. These tests also have allegedly been called on quantities in the picogram (one trillionth of a gram) level.

Alan Pincus, an attorney in Pennsylvania, is familiar with Pennsylvania’s equine drug testing laboratory, having represented a dozen trainers who were implicated in a case involving aminorex, a prohibited Class 1 drug. The aminorex charges were eventually dropped by the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission. Pincus has also been contacted by several of the trainers involved in the current lobeline positives.

At the time the regulations were written the testing was at the nanogram (one partical per billion) level. Any horse found to have an illegal substance most likely had a performance affecting level in its system. Also, the chances were high that the trainer was responsible. Now, they have testing to the picogram level (one partical per trillion). There are 1,000 picograms in a nanogram, so you can conclude that testing today is 1,000 times more sensitive than when the regulations were written.

Over the years as testing became more sensitive, anomalies started to occur as trace levels of drugs were found in horses even though trainers were withdrawing the horses from the drugs per the recommended guidelines. Many people were punished for procaine, isoxsuprine or clenbuterol for no other reason than the fact the withdrawal guidelines did not anticipate testing at such low levels. Also, testing at such low levels started to find positives which were the result of environmental contamination. Almost all cocaine positives are the result of environmental contamination. Many innocent trainers have been punished.

It reached its peak with aminorex, where scores of trainers were subjected to great stress and positive tests of a Class 1 drug. In Canada, the initial penalties for aminorex were three-year suspensions. In Ohio, they were one year.

The testing lab must justify itself. They get newer equipment that tests at lower levels and they find positive tests, which they believe are catching cheaters. They congratulate themselves and leave the trainers to suffer. Only if a large amount of trainers have positives for the same drug do the trainers have any chance at all. Think of what would happen if there were only two or three lobeline positives (there are at least 30). The trainers would already be doing their days.

Making things worse is the fact the trainers of the second- and third-place horses want the winners disqualified and thus the horsemen are not united. In the aminorex cases, the eventual dismissals were only made after Dr. Lawrence Soma agreed that the levels were not performance enhancing. I believe that calling a positive for 7 picograms of any substance is irresponsible as it is inconceivable that it could affect performance. In the modern era of testing, there should be a level for every drug and it should be at the level that affects performance.

If you look at the Class 1 drug positives in Pennsylvania over the last 10 years (notably aminorex and cocaine), you’ll find that over 90% were the result of environmental contamination and the trainers were totally innocent. The commission, which always presumes the trainers were negligent or cheaters, has no concern about the grief trainers go through when they receive a positive test. This is true even when the trainers are eventually cleared.