British officials want zero-tolerance on doping

LONDON (Reuters) - The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) is planning to adopt a zero-tolerance policy on anabolic steroids, the organisation said on Thursday, in the wake of high-profile cases that rocked the sport last year.

Under the new regulations, which the BHA hopes to bring in next year, a horse must not be given an anabolic steroid at any time and any that are will be banned from training for 12 months and ineligible to start in any race in Britain for 14 months.

All British-bred horses must be registered with central administrators Weatherbys within a year of birth, a timeline that is eventually expected to be phased to six months, and must be free for testing at any time after that point.

Imported horses must be registered after three months of arriving and a sample showing no evidence of anabolic steroid use must be provided.

"The need for an international position that sets robust minimum standards on use of anabolic steroids in horseracing was one that was pushed by BHA and a number of other key racing jurisdictions last year and resulted in the IFHA (International Federation of Horseracing Authorities) adopted position," BHA chief executive Paul Bittar said in a statement.

"The enhanced, zero-tolerance policy announced today, which exceeds the international minimum standard, has the objective of ensuring British racing remains at the forefront of tackling an issue that ranks among the biggest threats faced by any world sport."

Newmarket trainer Gerard Butler was banned for five years in December after nine of his horses tested positive for the banned anabolic steroid stanozolol.

Mahmood Al Zarooni, a trainer for Godolphin owner and Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, was also banned in 2013 for eight years after being found guilty of administering anabolic steroids.

(Reporting by Josh Reich, editing by Tony Jimenez)