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Associated Press 19y

Track requiring blood test of all entries

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Churchill Downs is instituting tougher
drug testing just weeks before the Kentucky Derby, requiring
pre-race blood tests used to detect stamina-enhancing "milkshake"
concoctions.

Every horse entered in races during Churchill Downs' spring meet
(April 30-July 10) will be tested. Failure to comply will result in
the horse being scratched from the race and will count as a
violation of the policy, the track said Monday.

A "milkshake" is made of baking soda, sugar and electrolytes,
and is believed to increase the concentration of carbon dioxide in
a horse's bloodstream and lessen lactic acid buildup, warding off
fatigue.

Penalties for positive results range up to banning a trainer for
a year and barring any horses in the trainer's care at any
Churchill Downs facility for six months, for a trainer's third
offense.

Dancer's Image, in 1968, is the only horse in the history of the
Kentucky Derby ever disqualified after the illegal drug butazolodin
(bute) was detected.

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