Steroids hang over Triple Crown run of Big Brown

If Big Brown makes history Saturday as the 12th Triple Crown winner in 89 years, the issue of steroids could come along for the ride.

Trainer Rick Dutrow has openly discussed injecting all his horses, including Big Brown, with a small dose of Winstrol, an anabolic steroid linked to a handful of disgraced athletes, on the 15th of every month.

The practice is legal in all but 10 states, with Triple Crown hosts Kentucky, Maryland and New York allowing it. So Dutrow is breaking no rules, even as the industry moves toward a ban by year's end in the 38 states where thoroughbred racing takes place.

Dutrow has even told the media that he doesn't know what Winstrol does for his horses, just that he likes the results.

But would a Big Brown Triple Crown triumph be tainted? We spoke to two experts.

It's okay

Equine surgeon Larry Bramlage, an NBC race commentator, doesn't view steroids as an issue and sees no comparison between usage by humans and horses.

"It's quite a bit different," he said. "They're used at smaller doses in horses, and they're used a little differently. The last thing you want — especially in a horse like Big Brown that's got to run a mile and a half — is to have a big, muscular NFL lineman type or weightlifter.

"The track athletes who use them are sprinters. But the distances Big Brown runs are middle distance. So the doses are much smaller, and what they do is keep the horse eating and with the ability to maintain their peak, as opposed to trying to alter their body type."

He said the last thing trainers would want to do is add "tons of muscle on what has already gotten so much publicity as a minimal skeleton. They have a very light frame, so you don't want to put a lot of weight on top of that."

The practice began some 25 years ago. How widespread is it today?

"I would guess if the trainers told you the truth, most of the horses of the Triple Crown trail are getting small amounts of steroids on a periodic basis," he said. "That said, I think we have to admit in racing that excessive steroid use does occur. It's generally not in the highest class of race horses, but ones racing at lower levels. And it's used as a substitute for horsemanship and for training."

Bramlage said steroids can help with healing and coping with the wear and tear of the sport, as well as replacing small doses of testosterone in geldings. "I think there are some good aspects of it, but I think unfortunately we will see the ban on steroids within the year. It's partly because of the public perception of steroids — people can't understand it — and partly because the few often ruin things for the many. The people who are abusing it and using it as substitutes for training are going to make it impossible for anybody to use it."

Without steroids in small doses, said Bramlage, it will be harder for trainers to keep everyday, nonstakes horses at the top of their game. "They'll compete for a series of races, then be given more breaks, and then they'll come back again," he said.

"It makes it a little more difficult to manage the peak of when you want a horse right," though the wear and tear from extended training would be reduced, he said.

It's not okay

"It's amazing that it's illegal in Europe and Asia but not in this country," Dr. Anthony Butch, director of the UCLA Olympic Analytical Laboratory, said. "Veterinarians say that you get gains in physical strength and stamina and mental attitude in horses. And they're thinking that maybe it isn't the physical strength, it's just a behavioral change. They're more aggressive. And therefore they're going to perform better. That's the theory."

Butch said it's natural for people to wonder if there's a correlation between steroids use and breakdowns. "We do know that in humans, when you do a lot of anabolic steroids, the muscles grow a lot faster than the supporting tendons do," he said. "I guess the best way to put it is there's a possibility they could contribute (to breakdowns)."

Does the revelation of steroid use taint Big Brown's performance?

"In my opinion it does, of course," he said. "Because it's not a natural way to do it. The bottom line is you're giving this not for the well-being of the horse, but you're trying to enhance the performance. And that's wrong."

Dave Scheiber can be reached at scheiber@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8541.

Trainers' take

Rick Dutrow, trainer of Big Brown, and Barclay Tagg, who trains Tale of Ekati, told the New York Times their horses would race Saturday on steroids. Dallas Stewart, trainer of Macho Again, said he had yet to decide, and Todd Pletcher (Ready's Echo) and Nick Zito (Da' Tara, Anak Nakal) would not comment. Graham Motion said Icabad Crane is not given steroids: "They're performance-enhancing. Isn't that why all the athletes use it? What do they do? They build up a horse's muscle tissue and make the animal stronger. To me that's performance enhancing. It amazes me that we're still even discussing it. They should have been banned along time ago."

The field

PostHorse Jockey Odds

1 Big Brown Desormeaux2-5

2 Guadacanal Castellano50-1

3 Macho Again Gomez20-1

4 Denis of Cork Albarado12-1

5 Casino Drive Prado7-2

6 Da' Tara Garcia30-1

7 Tale of Ekati Coa20-1

8 Anak Nakal Leparoux30-1

9 Ready's Echo Velazquez30-1

10 Icabad Crane Rose20-1

Though Big Brown's trainer, Rick Dutrow, said before the draw Wednesday morning that he would like an outside post, he shrugged off the inside position as his horse would a fly.

"I just can't see a post position getting him beat," he said. "As long as we break good, I can see us getting a good trip. There is not a lot of speed in the race. If we need our horse early on, he'll be there for us."