Mahmood Al Zarooni should have realised that he was breaking the rules of racing, said the head of the British Equine Veterinary Association today.
Al Zarooni, who trains for Sheikh Mohammed’s Godolphin stable, faces the loss of his licence after admitting he was responsible for administering anabolic steroids to a number of his horses, including the top-class filly Certify (above).
Though the Newmarket trainer deeply regrets what has happened and has owned up to making a “catastrophic error”, he said: “Because the horses involved were not racing at the time, I did not realise that what I was doing was in breach of the rules of racing.”
However, David Mountford, chief executive of BEVA, said today: “The rules are fairly clear and I think most trainers would be aware of them.
“The use of anabolic steroids in training is banned in UK racing. It’s obviously being taken very seriously by all concerned. And I would expect if, as looks likely, people are found guilty of breaching the rules, they would be treated severely.”
Godolphin racing manager Simon Crisford said: “This is a dark day for Godolphin. Sheikh Mohammed has instructed me to begin an urgent review of all of our procedures.”
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