The UAE has approved a new draft law banning the use of illegal substances in the country’s horseracing and equestrian industries.
A Federal National Council committee, which oversees foreign affairs, planning, petroleum, mineral wealth, agriculture and fisheries, said it has revised and approved the law, which is part of the UAE’s Vision 2021, news agency WAM reported.
The legislation incorporates stricter provisions to combat the circulation and use of banned substances in the UAE and will work towards ensuring that international standards on doping are being met
Representatives from the Ministry of Water and Environment, the National Anti-Doping Committee, UAE Racing Authority and the Emiri Court in Dubai were also present at the meeting.
Last May, Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, who owns the Godolphin stables where 18 horses failed tests for anabolic steroids last year, said doping horses would become a criminal offence in the UAE.
Rules on using drugs in horse racing vary around the world.
Under current rules, the use of anabolic steroids is permitted out of competition in the UAE, as it is in Australia
In February, Sheikh Mohammed was cleared of any wrongdoing following the doping scandal at his Godolphin racing organisation that saw a trainer banned for eight years.
Godolphin’s former trainer Mahmood al-Zarooni was banned by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) after being found guilty of administering anabolic steroids at stables in Newmarket.
Godolphin, which takes its name from The Godolphin Arabian, one of the three foundation stallions imported into England nearly 300 years ago, has won more than 200 Group One races in different countries since Sheikh Mohammed established training operations in Dubai and England in 1992.
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