Roccaro Mariana, Rinnovati Riccardo, Stucchi Luca, La Rocca Federica, Cascio Giuseppe, Peli Angelo
Department for Life Quality Studies, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, Rimini, Italy.
Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, Ozzano dell'Emilia, Italy.
Equine Vet J. 2025 Nov;57(6):1592-1599. doi: 10.1111/evj.14496. Epub 2025 Mar 13.
Doping in racehorses is a threat to horse welfare and the integrity of the sport. Despite its relevance, the literature on the prevalence of anti-doping violations worldwide is limited.
To analyse anti-doping violations in racehorses in Italy.
Retrospective observational study.
Data on horse races, anti-doping testing, and confirmed violations between 2014 and 2022 were collected and analysed. Positivity rates, most common drug classes and parent drugs, and differences between trotting and galloping horses were investigated.
During the considered 9-year timeframe, the national laboratory analysed a total of 104,770 samples. A total of 536 horses were confirmed to be positive (92.8% positivity rate at second analysis). The average prevalence over the years was 0.48 ± 0.15% in trotters and 0.50 ± 0.15% in gallopers. Seventy-seven parent drugs, belonging to 29 different drug classes, were detected. The five most represented drug classes were steroidal anti-inflammatories (19.0%), stimulants (16.4%), NSAIDs (15.5%), anabolic steroids (9.9%) and sedatives (9.7%). The five most frequent substances were dexamethasone (8.4%), cocaine (7.1%), testosterone (6.5%), caffeine (5.6%) and theophylline (4.1%).
Our data derive from official analyses performed in compliance with the national regulation on anti-doping controls in racehorses; information on the concentration of the detected analytes was not available. Testing only the best-placed horses does not allow for correlating drug administration and improved performance; horses with less chance of winning might slip through the control system with negative consequences on their welfare.
The percentage of confirmed doping violations in horse races in Italy in the 9 years (2014-2022) evaluated in this study was low (0.49 ± 0.15%). Considering the drug classes found most frequently, violations might have been more often the consequence of deliberate administration rather than accidental feed contamination.
赛马中的兴奋剂使用对马匹福利和这项运动的公正性构成威胁。尽管其具有相关性，但关于全球范围内反兴奋剂违规行为发生率的文献有限。
分析意大利赛马中的反兴奋剂违规行为。
回顾性观察研究。
收集并分析了2014年至2022年间有关赛马比赛、反兴奋剂检测及已确认违规行为的数据。调查了阳性率、最常见的药物类别和母体药物，以及快步马和奔跑马之间的差异。
在这9年的时间里，国家实验室共分析了104,770个样本。共有536匹马被确认为阳性（二次分析时阳性率为92.8%）。多年来，快步马的平均违规率为0.48±0.15%，奔跑马为0.50±0.15%。检测到77种母体药物，分属29个不同的药物类别。出现频率最高的五类药物为甾体类抗炎药（19.0%）、兴奋剂（16.4%）、非甾体抗炎药（15.5%）、合成代谢类固醇（9.9%）和镇静剂（9.7%）。出现频率最高的五种物质为地塞米松（8.4%）、可卡因（7.1%）、睾酮（6.5%）、咖啡因（5.6%）和茶碱（4.1%）。
我们的数据来自按照国家赛马反兴奋剂管制规定进行的官方分析；无法获取所检测分析物浓度的信息。仅对获胜马匹进行检测无法将药物使用与成绩提升相关联；获胜机会较小的马匹可能会逃过检测系统，对其福利产生负面影响。
本研究评估的意大利9年（2014 - 2022年）赛马比赛中已确认的兴奋剂违规行为百分比很低（0.49±0.15%）。考虑到最常发现的药物类别，违规行为可能更多是故意用药而非意外饲料污染的结果。
