{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,9]],"date-time":"2025-10-09T03:42:10Z","timestamp":1759981330794,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":27,"publisher":"Wiley","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,13]],"date-time":"2025-03-13T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1741824000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["beva.onlinelibrary.wiley.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Equine Veterinary Journal"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,11]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title><jats:sec><jats:title>Background<\/jats:title><jats:p>Doping in racehorses is a threat to horse welfare and the integrity of the sport. Despite its relevance, the literature on the prevalence of anti\u2010doping violations worldwide is limited.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Objectives<\/jats:title><jats:p>To analyse anti\u2010doping violations in racehorses in Italy.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Study Design<\/jats:title><jats:p>Retrospective observational study.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title><jats:p>Data on horse races, anti\u2010doping testing, and confirmed violations between 2014 and 2022 were collected and analysed. Positivity rates, most common drug classes and parent drugs, and differences between trotting and galloping horses were investigated.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>During the considered 9\u2010year timeframe, the national laboratory analysed a total of 104,770 samples. A total of 536 horses were confirmed to be positive (92.8% positivity rate at second analysis). The average prevalence over the years was 0.48\u2009\u00b1\u20090.15% in trotters and 0.50\u2009\u00b1\u20090.15% in gallopers. Seventy\u2010seven parent drugs, belonging to 29 different drug classes, were detected. The five most represented drug classes were steroidal anti\u2010inflammatories (19.0%), stimulants (16.4%), NSAIDs (15.5%), anabolic steroids (9.9%) and sedatives (9.7%). The five most frequent substances were dexamethasone (8.4%), cocaine (7.1%), testosterone (6.5%), caffeine (5.6%) and theophylline (4.1%).<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Main Limitations<\/jats:title><jats:p>Our data derive from official analyses performed in compliance with the national regulation on anti\u2010doping controls in racehorses; information on the concentration of the detected analytes was not available. Testing only the best\u2010placed horses does not allow for correlating drug administration and improved performance; horses with less chance of winning might slip through the control system with negative consequences on their welfare.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title><jats:p>The percentage of confirmed doping violations in horse races in Italy in the 9\u2009years (2014\u20132022) evaluated in this study was low (0.49\u2009\u00b1\u20090.15%). Considering the drug classes found most frequently, violations might have been more often the consequence of deliberate administration rather than accidental feed contamination.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1111\/evj.14496","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,13]],"date-time":"2025-03-13T08:10:08Z","timestamp":1741853408000},"page":"1592-1599","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Survey on 9\u2009years of anti\u2010doping controls in horse races in <scp>Italy<\/scp>"],"prefix":"10.1111","volume":"57","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5904-7968","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mariana","family":"Roccaro","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department for Life Quality Studies Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna  Rimini Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4997-2340","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Riccardo","family":"Rinnovati","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna  Ozzano dell'Emilia Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2056-5426","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Luca","family":"Stucchi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Veterinary Medicine University of Sassari  Sassari Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Federica","family":"La Rocca","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna  Ozzano dell'Emilia Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Giuseppe","family":"Cascio","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna  Ozzano dell'Emilia Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3488-2948","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Angelo","family":"Peli","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department for Life Quality Studies Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna  Rimini Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"311","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,13]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_2_13_2_1","unstructured":"Italian Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.Ministry Decree No. 797 of 16\/10\/2002. Regulation for the control of prohibited substances and subsequent amendments.2002."},{"key":"e_1_2_13_3_1","unstructured":"ACCREDIA.Laboratori di prova.2024. Available from:https:\/\/services.accredia.it\/accredia_labsearch.jsp?ID_LINK=1734&area=310&numeroaccr=0751&classification=A&i. Accessed 4 Nov 2024."},{"key":"e_1_2_13_4_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/j.2042-3306.1984.tb01846.x"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_5_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2746\/042516409X471449"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_6_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/anatox\/35.7.438"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_7_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.12681\/jhvms.15578"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_8_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/vms3.724"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_9_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2754\/avb202392010039"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_10_1","unstructured":"Ministry of Agriculture Food Sovereignty and Forestry (MASAF).List of horses positive for doping. 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