Malaysia's top horse trainer alleges rampant doping by gang
Malaysia's top horse trainer alleges rampant doping by gang
KUALA LUMPUR (Agencies): Malaysian horse racing was hit by allegations of doping by an organized gang on Thursday after four horses failed blood tests and were barred from competing in the northern state of Penang.
One of the top trainers in the country, K. Velayuthan, claimed that he and other trainers were victims of an organized group doping horses to fix race results. Velayuthan lodged a police report Sunday after a blood test confirmed that his four horses were doped.
A police spokesman, speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, confirmed that several stable workers have been questioned in connection with the allegations, but no one has been arrested.
Velayuthan said he was offering 10,000 ringgit (US$2,631) for information to nab the culprits.
"There have been many cases like this," Velayuthan told The Associated Press, accusing several circuits of having lax security.
Velayuthan said it was still unclear what substance was used to dope his horses and that full test results remained unknown. Penang Turf Club officials were not immediately available for comment.
"This doping is normally done by people who have access to the animals," Velayuthan said. "I am waiting for police to advise on what precautionary measures can be taken."
Malaysia's bustling horse racing circuit rakes in millions of ringgit annually. Two jockeys were arrested in Penang two years ago in connection with illegal betting activities.
Off-track betting is illegal. On Christmas Eve, police picked up 10 men, including a Singaporean and two Australians, and seized betting slips and cellular phones from their hotel rooms. They were released on bail pending further investigation.
Meanwhile, a turf club in the northern state of Perak has been sued for defamation over the mix up of urine test involving two horses, The Sun newspaper reported Thursday.
Azni Mohamad Azar claimed that his horse, Prince Igy, which was taking part in an equestrian competition, was wrongly identified as having tested positive for two banned substances in 1998.
The Perak Turf Club, in filing its defense, acknowledged that the urine test results were those of another horse but said the record had been straightened out.
A judge will hear the case Feb. 16.
Alcohol test
In Hong Kong, a German champion jockey has been banned from competing for a month on Thursday after failing an alcohol breathalyser test.
Andrasch Starke was the first jockey to fail a test since breath testing was introduced in Hong Kong in September 1997.
Starke was hauled before a Jockey Club inquiry after he failed the test when he was one of four jockeys randomly selected at a race meeting at the Sha Tin course in the New Territories on Dec. 26.
He took a total of five tests on two breath testing machines and was found to have above the permitted legal allowance of 22 micrograms of ethanol per 100 milliliters of breath on each occasion.
He also failed a blood sample test conducted by a government laboratory.
Starke, who won the International Jockey Series at the Happy Valley race course on Hong Kong island on his debut appearance on Dec. 13, pleaded guilty before the inquiry and submitted an apology for causing embarrassment to the club and the sport.
The South China Morning Post reported last week that the 26- year-old was understood to have been celebrating on Christmas Day with his girlfriend, Anja, who had arrived from Germany just before Christmas.
"I had some wine on Christmas night, just a little to celebrate. There was a lot of time between then and the racing and I never thought there would be a problem," he said quoted by the Post.
In a statement, John Schreck, chief stipendiary steward, said: "It was obvious to all members of the panel that Jockey Starke was clearly regretful of what had occurred."
He added that after careful consideration, it had been decided to suspend Starke's license to ride in races until Feb. 5, but the ban would not go into effect until after Saturday's race meeting.