Racing: Al Zarooni is banned for eight years

Bookmakers last night warned that the Mahmood Al Zarooni doping scandal is “potentially the biggest threat racing has faced” as the the Godolphin trainer was disqualified for eight years by the British Horseracing Authority.

Mahmood Al Zarooni arrives for his disciplinary panel hearing at the British Horseracing Authority HQ in London. Picture: Reuters

A disciplinary panel handed down the punishment in London after tests on 11 of his horses showed the presence of anabolic steroids, with further admissions made about four others. Al Zarooni admitted he had made a “catastrophic error” and the 15 horses, which included one-time 1,000 Guineas favourite Certify, have been banned from running for six months.

The scandal has already caused Godolphin supremo and Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed to lock down Al Zarooni’s stables, saying he was “appalled and angered” by events.

Coral PR manager David Stevens admits only time will tell how the confidence of punters will be affected by a story that has put racing in the headlines for all the wrong reasons.

Stevens said: “The big question is how is this going to affect the Al-Zarooni, a former stable groom, has trained some high-profile winners, notably Monterosso in the 2012 Dubai World Cup - the world’s richest horse race - since being employed by Godolphin in 2010. He also had surprise winners in two of Britain’s classics - Blue Bunting in the 1,000 Guineas in 2011 and Encke in the St. Leger in 2012.

He was fined 2,000 pounds ($3,000) in August of last year after urine samples taken from two of his horses were found to contain a banned substance.

Bittar said the latest case highlighted that “there are inconsistencies across international racing jurisdictions regarding what substances are permitted to be used in training.”

“While around the world, horseracing bodies quite rightly adopt a zero tolerance policy to the presence of anabolic steroids when carrying out post-race testing, the approach is not so consistent for horses in training,” Bittar said. “In an age of increasing international travel and competition we will put the subject on the agenda for discussion with our international colleagues.”