OFFICIALS fear widespread infiltration of Victorian racing by organised crime after revelations that underworld figures own a horse at the centre of a doping scandal and other pacers and thoroughbreds, reports The Age.It says: The underworld link to harness racing horse Em MaGuane - which last month tested positive for the stimulant EPO - along with several other positive tests has sparked serious integrity concerns in the lead-up to the Melbourne spring carnival.Some racing and organised crime
OFFICIALS fear widespread infiltration of Victorian racing by organised crime after revelations that underworld figures own a horse at the centre of a doping scandal and other pacers and thoroughbreds, reports The Age.
It says: The underworld link to harness racing horse Em MaGuane - which last month tested positive for the stimulant EPO - along with several other positive tests has sparked serious integrity concerns in the lead-up to the Melbourne spring carnival.
Some racing and organised crime investigators suspect EPO, or erythropoietin, known as an illegal performance enhancing drug used by cyclists to boost red blood cells, may be in far wider use because it is difficult to detect.
Harness Racing authorities are conducting two inquiries into EPO use and are awaiting further analysis of an irregular sample involving a third horse. Thoroughbred racing investigators are conducting a separate EPO inquiry into horses trained by a father-son team.