Quote:
Originally Posted by VigorsTheGrey
Can a racing outfit use steroids and other growth and performance drugs, etc, while the horse is being raised and all through the 2 yr season without making a racecard start...then quit right before joining onto the racing season as a 3 yr old...I'm thinking maybe Superdoped horses are being raised up from the get go to give them a head start physically...?
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I don't know very much about gene-doping, so I'm putting a caveat at the outset.
With traditional doping there are problems that arise with use overtime.
With testosterone and EPO, the longer you use, the less your own body makes, so that you become wholly dependant on supplimental sources over time. If a horse is raised on supplements, you'd risk having an animal that would cease to do much of anything if it were prevented from receiving continued supplements even for a short time. You'd go from having an athelete to a couch potato overnight.
I would think that the benefit of an unraced 2 yo starting from nowhere as a 3yo, would be that they would be less likely to come up for OOC testing for awhile, and then the testing will be pretty predictable, almost always right after the race.You have to be a moron to get caught if you know when the test is coming.
This would give somewhat of an edge because the early races will take less out of the horse, because the horses is hopped all the way up, whereas his crop mates have been running with less of a buffer, for longer, taking more of a toll.
FWIW the timing from the KY Derby to the Belmont is perfect for a classic EPO/testosterone regime to avoid testing, because you know exactly when you'll be tested and it almost splits perfectly into three very tidy 3 week regiments if your last race before the Derby was 3 weeks earlier: Supplement the day after your last prep test, by the KY Derby you'll pass the tests, but still have the benefit. Then re-up the day after the KY Derby post race test, and hold your breath that the Preakness is still the joke-test race, then top off again the day after the Preakness test for the Belmont. With the Preakness, you'd prob want to do a smaller amount, just to be safe.
