Kentucky Derby Contenders Are Drug Tested

For the first time in Kentucky Derby history, all entries for Saturday's race (in this case the full field of 20) were tested for performance-enhancing drugs. Thankfully these were blood tests, so those administering them were not faced with the awkwardness of having a thousand-pound animal pee in a cup.

The move was not prompted by any specific allegations of doping, but was iniatiated in order to more fully comply with Kentucky's anti-doping horse racing laws. Horses have been regularly tested for drugs after a race -- the change here is a pre-race test.

Drugs conceivably benefiting a racehorse include erythropoietin (increases red blood cells, increasing endurance), and darbepoetin (a synthetic form of erythropoietin). (Thoroughbred horses are rarely seen behind the stables hauling on a doobie, so it's unlikely they're tested for recreational drugs.)

What's potentiaally startling -- regarding the crowning of a Kentucky Derby winner -- is that the results of the drug test are not expected until after the race has been run. This raises the spectre of a Kentucky Derby winner (or any horse that places in the money) being stripped of his title.

So what impact does this have on Kentucky Derby wagers?

According to a story on AOL Sports, in the event that a horse tested positive, "the horse would be stripped of the Derby crown and the owners would lose the prize money, but for betting purposes, the horse would still be considered the winner."

Hmmm. A bit late, but had I known, I could have sent a gift of an envigorating drink, chock-full of "vitamins and nutrients" to the outfit stabling my pick to win. ;)

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