Sweden joins BHA’s equine anti-doping policy

Sweden joins Ireland, France and Germany as the nations whose runners in Britain are treated in the same way as British-registered horses.All other international runners are required to be sampled prior to running in Britain

The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) today announces the addition of Sweden to the list of racing nations whose runners in Britain will be treated, in terms of sampling procedures, the same as British-trained horses. The other countries that already form part of this group are Ireland, France and Germany due to key aspects of their anti-doping policies reflecting those of the BHA.

As part of the BHA’s revised equine anti-doping policy first announced in June 2014, it was confirmed that visiting runners from Ireland, France and Germany would be exempt from the requirement of being in Britain 10 business days in advance of their intended race in order to be sampled. Runners from these jurisdictions are instead treated akin to British runners and sampled as per the BHA’s standard testing policy.

Following confirmation that the rules of Svensk Galopp, Sweden’s horseracing regulatory body, together with Sweden’s national legislation, meet the BHA’s anti-doping requirements Sweden has been added to this list of exempt nations.

Jamie Stier, Director of Raceday Operations and Regulation for the BHA, said:

“We are pleased to confirm that Sweden’s anti-doping rules meet the criteria required for exemption from Britain’s sampling procedures for foreign runners.

“The key considerations that underpin the decision are that in Swedish racing the use of anabolic steroids is not permitted under any circumstances, there is no therapeutic use exemption and horses are subject to testing from registration until retirement from racing. This includes out-of-competition testing regardless of the horse’s whereabouts.”