Treinta años del control del doping en los hipódromos españoles1983-2014

Resumen

The desire to achieve victory with the least effort and the certain guarantee of defeating the rival is as old as the sports and has adapted along its history with its various methods, forms and substances to modify physical performance in a way that it has evolved, although the intention is maintained invariably. Nowadays doping is present in most sports and horse racing is not an exception. In order to safeguard animal welfare as well as a clean sport and fair gambling in Spanish racetracks "doping control" is performed. In the case of Spain doping control of thoroubred horses is performed following the guidelines of the Spanish jockey club, named "Sociedad de Fomento de la Cría Caballar en España" (SFCCE), with the main objective of the prevention of the illegal or abused use of doping substances. The complete process of the doping control is a complicated one, supported by veterinary, chemical analytical and technical skills that are finally compiled in legal acts. The doping control in Spanish racetracks first began in 1960, thanks to an agreement between the SFCCE and the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology of the Veterinary Faculty of Madrid (Complutense University). What occurred during those first years is included in our critical study. In 1983 SFCCE updated the procedure and delegated the responsibility for the urine and blood analysis to an International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA) approved laboratory ...