Routine drugging of race horses ‘disaster waiting to happen’

Workers in the racing industry across Australia say horses are being routinely drugged for track work at the peril of rider and horse safety in a malpractice which could breach nationwide racing rules. 

The ABC has spoken to a number of people who worked in the industry in New South Wales, Western Australia, Victoria, and the ACT who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

These workers say some horse trainers across the country are giving their horses tranquillisers on an almost daily basis, including a substance called acepromazine, as a quick safety fix for training and as a cost-cutting measure.

Racing Australia chief executive Paul Eriksson said the organisation had “recently become aware” of the use of acepromazine for track work.

He said the authority had begun collecting data about the practice, but it had not been made aware of any complaints or concerns.

Simply referred to as “ace”, the prescription medicine can be administered by oral gel or injection and is advertised as a way to calm an excitable or nervous horse that may be hard to handle during transport or veterinary procedures.

Directions for an acepromazine product in United Kingdom are clear — “do not, in any circumstances, ride horses within the 36 hours following administration of the product”.

But according to workers in Australia’s industry the pharmaceutical is being abused by some horse trainers, risking the safety of riders, handlers, and the horse itself.

‘Disaster waiting to happen’

One worker, who previously worked in regional Victoria, said she held grave concerns for the safety of riders on drugged horses as the animal was more likely to trip and fall.

“It’s just a disaster waiting to happen,” she said.

This worker said she was tasked with administering the drug to horses, which she said was common practice in the industry.

The ABC has viewed work sheets that show horses being routinely sedated before track work at that regional Victorian stable.

Another worker, also from regional Victoria, said drugging horses for track work should be banned.

“If a horse needs to be sedated to go out on the track then it shouldn’t be out there,” she said.

“It’s too risky for the horse, the rider, and anyone else out on the track at the time.”

One worker, who had been a track rider for two decades throughout New South Wales and the ACT, told the ABC she rode many sedated horses during her time in the industry.

“I’ve ridden horses that are nearly going to fall over with every stride, which is terrifying,” she said.

“You can feel they’ve had too much [acepromazine] in them.

She said some trainers would automatically give ace to their horses under the belief it made the horses easier to handle and ride, with some riders refusing to get on a horse that had not been drugged.

But she disagreed with the approach saying it masked “the underlying problem” that horses were broken in too young and not adequately trained, leaving them akin to a car with “no steering [and] no brakes”.

She said ace was commonly used on Monday mornings after the horses were confined to their stalls all day Sunday without being let out for exercise and still being fed a high-energy diet.

“By Monday morning they’re off their head,” she said.

Drug use could breach racing rules

The Australian Veterinary Association guidelines state acepromazine is classed as a regulated medicine that can only be prescribed by a vet for a specific treatment. 

The drug should be stored in a secure place where only authorised persons can access it and records kept on how and when it was administered, the guidelines said.

It said sedatives for uses such as shoeing and dentistry should only be dispensed for use in horses under the care of the prescribing veterinarian and in doses suitable for the immediate need.

It also listed horse-breaking as a potential use for the substance.

“Hazards of sedation to the horse and operator should be explained,” the guidelines said.

Equine Veterinarians Australia president Laura Hardefeldt said the organisation supported vets in prescribing the medication in accordance with racing regulations and veterinary prescribing laws in their respective jurisdiction.

“Veterinarians are best positioned to work with owners and trainers to make informed decisions in the best interest of each horse and its rider,” Dr Hardefeldt said.

Mr Eriksson said Racing Australia was collecting data across the country through each state’s racing body’s chief veterinary officer to “understand whether the practice is prevalent and the processes involved in the administration of acepromazine”.

He said the use of sedatives in horses, prescribed by a vet for veterinary purposes, was not necessarily a safety risk.

“Under the rules of racing a horse cannot be presented to compete in a race or official trial with acepromazine or any other sedative present as it falls under the list of prohibited substances in those circumstances,” Mr Eriksson said.

Lack of horse and rider training

One track rider who worked in Western Australia for three decades said the wide use of acepromazine had become more common in recent years due to the high rate of employee turnover in the industry, and the lack of time and expertise put into training horses.

She said it was expensive for stables to hire competent riders who could train horses and that backpackers with no prior experience riding horses were often hired to work in stables.

She said racehorses were often broken in, or trained to be ridden, during a two-week period, compared to other equine pursuits where horses received basic handling and riding training over a period of months or years.

“There such a rush to get a horse broken in and into the races,” she said.

She said bolting, rearing, or other problematic behaviour was due to the horse being fearful or inadequately trained.

“The horse isn’t misbehaving, it’s expressing itself as a horse. A horse will only do what it feels it needs to do to survive,” she said.

“They’ve got hundreds of thousands of years of evolution behind them that says that they need to move about 30 kilometres a day, grazing the entire time.

“We lock them up in a stable for 23 hours a day and then expect them to behave at the moment they walk out the door.”

She said restricting the use of tranquillisers like acepromazine would cause mayhem in the industry because it had become too reliant on the use of the substances.

“It’s considered a routine part of training,” she said.

She said a better understanding of equine psychology was needed in the industry.

The worker said horses kept in paddocks rather than stables were less likely to be given sedatives.

“These horses are in a paddock the entire time. They can have a run around and buck and roll and play as they need to get rid of the excess energy,” she said.

She said racehorses needed better welfare conditions, including light exercise in the morning and afternoons, as well as feeding on more hay and less grain.

More regulations needed

Professor Paul McGreevy of the Sydney School of Veterinary Science at the University of Sydney said the practice stemmed from the way racehorses were kept in confinement.

“You’ve got this animal that’s been bred to run [and] what we’re seeing is an inability to handle, lead, and ride these horses safely,” he said.

He said regulation is needed on vets administering the product.

“The sustainability of racing depends on improving horse welfare as much as possible and a bandaid solution is not the answer,” Professor McGreevy said.

Helle Erhardsen of the Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses called for the practice to be outlawed, in addition to strengthening welfare regulations, including keeping horses in an open paddock with other horses.

“Let the horses live like horses. Don’t set them up to become a ticking time bomb. You would not need to sedate them at all,” Ms Erhardsen said.