Racing dogs at an Iowa greyhound track have tested positive for a rare and risky performance-enhancing drug, prompting regulators to suspend two trainers and the kennels responsible for the animals.
A few greyhounds at the Iowa Greyhound Park in Dubuque tested positive following routine daily testing for ractopamine, a drug widely used as a feed supplement to help pigs, cattle and turkeys increase their muscle mass. A few other samples came back as suspicious and additional testing is underway, said Brian Ohorilko, administrator of the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission.
Jerry Crawford, an attorney for the Iowa Greyhound Association, which operates the track, said the drug accidentally got in the animals’ food supply and “all evidence points to no wrongdoing.” He predicted vindication in the coming days.
Ohorilko said that the source of the drug remains unconfirmed. He said he couldn’t remember regulators ever seeing the substance in Iowa racing before.
“Any time something like this happens in any segment of racing, it’s certainly not good,” Ohorilko said. “It’s hard to say whether it’s an issue with the food source, with one or two individuals or more, we just don’t know.”
Hearings are being held Thursday for the two trainers whose licenses were suspended: Jessica Hughes, of Bellevue, the trainer at a kennel owned by John Stidham; and Alicia Bushey, of Dubuque, the trainer at Robert Hardison’s kennel. Both kennels cannot enter their roughly 70 dogs in races pending the outcome of additional testing.
The three-member administrative panel conducting Thursday’s hearings will determine if any punishments are warranted. The most serious sanction against the trainers would be a permanent revocation of their licenses. Action against the kennel owners is less likely, but they could be ordered to reallocate purse payments associated with dogs that tested positive, Ohorilko said.
Ractopamine is banned in animal racing because it can be used to mimic the effects of steroids — reducing body fat while enhancing muscle growth — and pose health problems for horses and dogs. A study published in 2011 by an Iowa State University expert linked the drug to “arterial, cardiac, and skeletal muscle damage” after scientists tested it on nine greyhounds.
The Iowa investigation is at least a temporary setback for the Iowa Greyhound Association, which started operating the track earlier this year under a deal approved by lawmakers to phase out greyhound racing in Iowa. Hardison is president of the association while Stidham is a board member.
Citing the suspension of two of its 10 kennels, the track announced this week that it would cut the number of races per card from 15 to 12 until the end of its season on Oct. 24. The track is open on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
Under legislation signed by Gov. Terry Branstad last year, Iowa casinos were allowed to stop operating two dog tracks that had cost millions to subsidize, amid declining interest and animal welfare concerns.
A track in Council Bluffs will close in December, but the deal allowed the greyhound association to take over the Dubuque track from Mystique Casino under a five-year free lease. Casinos were required to pay a $72 million bailout, half of which will go to operate the Dubuque track. The other half will be paid to breeders and others who worked in the industry.
The leader of a national nonprofit group that opposes greyhound racing called the test results “a black eye for the Iowa Greyhound park.”
“This is the greyhound racing industry’s last chance in Iowa,” said Carey Theil, executive director of Grey2KUSA. “Only a few months after this new track opens, we have a major drug scandal.”
#Steroids #GreyhoundRacing #AnimalAbuse
