Report: Horsemen Keeping Tabs On Development Of New Human Drugs

A report by National Public Radio about drug use in Olympic athletes reveals that horsemen are also keeping tabs on the development of new human drugs. Ronald Evans, director of the Gene Expression Laboratory at the Salk Institute, worked on the development of meldonium, a heart medication that improves blood flow and therefore could have an unintended boost on performance.

“I get emails from athletes, coaches — the horse racing industry,” Evans said.

Evans' goal in his research isn't to help human or equine athletes perform better, but he said experience has taught him that any new prescription he works on will likely be tried by athletes looking for an edge.

Meldonium was the substance that knocked tennis star Maria Sharapova out of Olympic contention when she admitted to taking it after a ban on the substance had gone into effect. The drug has been banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency, but NPR reports that athletes can still use it and other substances like it if they get a therapeutic use exemption from a doctor.

Although it logically follows that meldonium could positively impact performance, no data exists testing whether it's helpful or how helpful it could be. Don Catlin, emeritus professor at UCLA told the news organization he wasn't sure it had any impact on human performance at all.

Read more at NPR