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takyon [soylentnews.org] writes:

Several dogs from one of the top twenty finishing teams at the Iditarod [wikipedia.org] Trail Sled Dog Race failed a drug test [npr.org]:

It's not your ordinary sports doping scandal: some dogs who mushed this year's Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race have tested positive for the opioid pain reliever Tramadol, the event's governing board said Wednesday.

The Iditarod Trail Committee Board of Directors, which oversees the nearly 1,000-mile race, says that when dogs were tested six hours after finishing in Nome, Alaska, in March, several from one team came back positive for the drug. It is the first-ever positive result since Iditarod testing for prohibited substances began in 1994, officials said.

The Board announced last week that "a prohibited substance" had been found in some of the dogs. The latest information clarifies that it was Tramadol. The Associated Press reports [espn.com] that investigators estimate the drug could have been administered up to 15 hours before the test.

The rules will be changed to require mushers to prove that they did not intentionally administer drugs to their dogs in the case of a positive test. Currently, race officials are required to prove that the doping was intentional.

Tramadol [wikipedia.org].

Also at The Guardian [theguardian.com] and DW [dw.com].

See also: Routine On U.S. Racetracks, Horse Doping Is Banned In Europe [npr.org]
Report: Horsemen Keeping Tabs On Development Of New Human Drugs [paulickreport.com]
Doped up greyhounds add to the disgrace dogging parimutuels in Florida [miamiherald.com]

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