J. Forenr. Sci. Soc. (1970), 18, 185 Hereived 26 January, 1978

Drugging Racing Greyhounds with Chlorbutanol H. SMITH and J. W. THORPE

Deparlment of Forensic ,+fedicitze, T h e liniuersity o f Glasgozu, C~'ii~sgoto, 8 k o ~ l o n d .

C'hlorbutataol (chloretone) zs a freely auailable sedatzve whzch zs used an 349; of all nttpmprs at clopzng r r ~ ~ i r g yrvhoullds. T h e uJrl o f lhls sedatzut zs rizrcusseri nnri the npj~lz- caliorl o f [he /ri.hniyue~ of n n o ~ ~ i i c n l loxicolagy itr dzscouerirrg ils presence i n urint frorn racing grtyhounds i s descrzbed. T h e rnefhods of tnterpreftng the tesults of the nt~alytical znuestigatioir are outllrled and thc ninja? problern~ dircussed. T h e pioper aflplicatron o f the auailuble facilities, iflcludlng general ~ecurily, l~eieririary exumznatio~s and atla@frcal toxicology, makes the undetected doping o j - raczng gryhounds with chlorbutanol no longer possible.

Introduction Chlorbutanol (chloretone) is a fi-eely available sedative (The Medicines

(General SaIe List) Order, 1977, S 1, 2 129) which is used to affect the perform- ance of racing greyhounds. The popularity of this drug steins from the same arguments as those for the use of phcnol>arbitone (Smith, 1977). These are: the uncertainty in improving performance enough by the use of stimulants; the certainty that in sufficient dose chlorbutanol will "stop" a greyhound; the large amount of information gathered over the yrars by practising "dopers". This inforlnation allows the performances of racing greyhounds to be altered to give at least a rcasonablc balancc of odds in favour of thc "dopcl.". As with phcno- barbitonc the use ol' cl~lol*bulanol does not lead to cestain resu1t.s due to incli- vidual vasiatioii in response. However, during the period 1965-74, 347(, of all greyhounds found to be "doped" were given chlorbutanol. This placcs it second to phenobarbitone iri popularity and as a result it irlust be given serious consideration when screening greyhounds for drugs.

Drug administration 'I'he drug is usually ad~rlinistered b y placi~lg it in a ball of rneat. This is done

either by pressing capsules filled with the drug into the meat ball or by mixing the drug with the meat. The latter technique is not so uscfirl 1,ecause the characteristic odour of the chlorbutanol tnay cause the greyhound to refuse the meat. The advantages of these mcthods of dosage are that the drug may be given simply by rlropping the mcat close to the gr-cyhound anrl that there is a minimum chance of being observed \vhile committing the act. Once the food is taken the evidence of administration is no longcr available as would be the case if a syringc was uscd. The tirrle a1 which the drug is given is iniportant but tends to be controllecl Inore by the effectiveness of the security than l ~ v the optimum time for the desircd physical cffcct. Thr: most populal- timcs arc the night before the race or, in the kennels hefore tlie race. Doping during the night rnust he carried out carefully as traces of a break-in immediately alert the security personnel and trainers may become suspicious if the greyhounds are unusually quiet, or show symptoms of drugging, rluring thc day nf the race. Doping at the racetrack kennels just before racing has the clisadvantage of having to be carried out in an area of high security.

Dosage The actual dose required to slow a greyhound slightly can only be found by

trial and error or by jrldgement based on n long histnry of usc as a "clope".

Therc is no ~uicle obtainable from human a~nlication of the d r u ~ because of U I I U

the large variation in dose from species to species (greyl~ounrls requ i r~ much more for the same effect). The use of veterinary therapy guides is not helpful because the average dose effect lists would be misleading. The problem is that duc to indiviclual variation the same w~eiglit-rclatcd dose rcsults in quitc different effects. If the correct dose is used then many greyhounds will be sIowcd hut somc will bc scvcrcly affcctcd so that thcy cannot run or if thcy do they run ofl' tlie track at berids or sturrible. A Itw gi,cyl-lourld.; may also gain time. This can happen if an excitable animal is slightly sedated. Of the grey- hounds that arc slowed the range of slowing is large and the degree of slowing in any particuIar greyhouncl may l ~ e unacceptably large.

I n a typical experiment involving eight greyhounds six were "correctly" doped. The actual dose was selected as a result of experience gained in previous experirrienls and agrees reasonably well with sorile of the doses intercepted by security personnel during attempted doping incidents. Vererinary examination showed that of' the six dogs four showed clinical symptoms during thc trial period, i.e. over the first day. Of these four, only two were obviously affected. During trial races two greyhounds gave poor times and swerved during the race. 'l'hcsc wcrc not. the animals wit11 the obvious symptoms. One greyhound ran with a rila~ginally irnpruved perfoririaricr arid llie otliers all perlbrmed normally. The results of this trial are as expected and any attempt to increase the dose to obtain a slowing of inore greyhounds results in the development of obvious syrnptoins of clrugging ancl in several instances these may be dramatic (e.g., inability to stand).

.4pklicalio1~ to racir!g Once the would-he doper has rlrcidrrl nn thc correct dose and the best tiine

of administration, a cornprc:rrrlise has to be nliide immediately to fit in with the best chances of evading the security svstem. There is only a small range of variation and if this is exceeded the doping is either certain to alert rhc sccurity systeins or to have no effect on the greyhuuncl's performance.

As the nlagnitude of the interference increases the chances of discovery by the security system increases. If only a single clog is being drugged, pcnctration uf the security system is very small and may not trigger an alrrt. ISirilei~f'crcr~cc is larger, such as when all the dogs in one kennel are affected or if selectiori of a numbcr of spccificd greyhounds is necessary, thrn it is very difficult indeed to avoid tlie riurlrial security systerns.

I t is reasonable to assume, where the betting odds are bent in the criininal's favour by largc scalc intcrf~rencc, that rnnncy can I I ~ illegally extracted from the syslerri. FVlien only a srnall nurnber of greyhounds (or, even one) are invoIved the general public may find it difficult to understand how a profit can result but in fhct the gains can be large ancl such incidents are in the majority.

Sul-nrnarising the use of chlorbutanol as an agent fur dcrpirlg greyhounds it must be said that in the hands of the experienced doper it cari be used success- firlly provided the correct conditions are chosen. Only tight sccurity at the kennels anrl tracks, vigilance hy veterinary srlrgeclns and rrlore recently, the usc of analytical scsccning havc kcpt this problem in check, -4 combinatiorl or these methods, used effrctively, means that no successful doping with chlor- butanol can take place.

Analytical detection 'I'llc rernaindcr. ol' (his sludy cleiils with thc clctcction of chlorbutanol in

gr*eyllourld urine by arialyrical clier1iislr.y. Urine is the material chosen for analysis because it can be taken without

causing thc grcyho~lnd any distress and is almost always available in usable arncrunts, on denlat~d. The salriple is obtaincd by walking tlit: anirilal 1'01. a short distance after a period of confinement and collectirig the inevitable sample by drxtrous usc nf a suitable basin. Sampling must he closely supervised

becausc an interchange of samples ancl suhstitution of urine from othcr. species (usually liurrian) can (and does) take place. Occasionally samples of fluids other than urine (c.g., soft drinks) nlay be offered for analysis. Whcn urine is not available other iriaterials such as I>lood or stomach contents can be analysed but taking these can cause (lie gityliound sorrie clislress.

Therc are many mcthods for the detection and determination of chlorbutanol and related subsrar~ces, i.r. similar drugs with a -C:C:I, grouping, in biologi~al material. Those used for testirig greyklourld uririe are a colour-producing reaction and gas chromatography.

The colour reaction called the Fujiwara 1,eaction (l;i~jiwara, 1916) is used on the toluene ex l~~ac t of a small volume (151111) of urine. The serlsitivity is 2.5pg chlnrbutanol pcr mi of toluene and is suitable for detecting the drug in urine well below the lcvrl a t which there is any significant action on thc grey- hound's system. This trlrthod is usually used as a qualitative technique but with a suitable choice of analytical conditions it may be used for quantitative colourin~etric measllrrmvnts. A disadva~ltage 01' 111is techriiclue is that it i s sf.) sensitive that it will detect chlorofurm ~ ~ h i c h has been absorbed fiorri the atmosphere. This is prcvcntcd by making surc that there are no open bottles of chlo~.oform in the lal.)oratory. Tlie F~kj iwa~x reaction is rapid and is suital,le for use as a pre-race screening test. providirig no cliloro~or~ri is used in the prc-race laboratory.

Gas chromatography using an rlectrori capture c:lctcctor (Srnitli alid Tkiorpr, 1977) is the method of choice for the detectiori arid riieasurerrient of chlorbutanol in the post-racc lahoratory. This technique is very scnsitivc i:0.02pg/ml of u ~ i ~ l e ) ancl may be used to rlisting~~ish hetween the various drugs rclatetl lu chlorbutanol and if riecessary rrieasuI'e them.

Ir~terprctnliuri Chlorbutanol is not produced na~u~ .a l ly and its discovery in greyhound urine

mcans that this clrug has been aclministcrcd for vctcrinary or other reasons. However, due to the volatility of chlorbutariol i t is possible to lose it from a urine sample. Urine collected in a bolvl does rial lose any sigriificant amount (so far as detection is considered) in about threc hours but half is lost in one day and tncrst is lost hy thr fourth day. Storage iri glass bottIes is si~itable if thcj. are well sealed but a plain cork seal allo~rs losses alrriost as large as from art open container. Storage in polythcnc bottlrs with well fitting polythcnc screw capsis sui tahl~.

Once the presence of chlorbutanol in the urine sarriple has been established the next question is when was it administered. Unfortunately therc is nn possibility of answering this witliuut knowing the quantity ingctcil. I n a se1,it.s of grcyhounds given the same dose, 23 rrlg/kg, the urine levels after the sarnr t.irnc interval ranged from 0.19 to C).S6mg per lOOml of urine. Thcrcforc even if an average corrcct close is assuriled for, ariy clopctl grcyhounrl the variation i r ~ excretion level from animal to anirnal makes any interpretation other than-a short timc ago or a long time ago-unlikely. In practice, thc lcvcls found in doped greyhounds' urine rlifl-er 1))~ as rriucli as a f'kctcrr 1:)1' ten.

The time during which the drug is detected in the gre)~hound's urine was invcstigatcrl I>y correctly doping n series of greyhounds. I n this grotip chlor- butanol was readily detectablr Ily the Fujiwara tcst Srorri 1 + lioul~s aster dosage and just detectable in half this time. Clinical symptoms do not usually show1 until after l k hours. The Fujiwara tcst could detect chlorbutanol in the urine from the above greyhourids Sor* at least. 250 hours after closage and xas chromato- graphy could detect the drug for a l least 432 hours (18 clays).

Pre- and I'o.rt-race ttstitzg Analysis is usrfill in drug tletectiori in greyhcrunrls cithcr as a prc-race screen-

ing procedure (Srnith, 1970) or as a post-race service. C1-~lor~bulariol (and rrlatrd rlrr~gs) can be discovered prc-racc in urine analysed using a Fi~jiwarn

rcaction. Thc oncrator follows a strictlv-defined ~rocedure which results in a I

solutiorl whicli rnust be interpreted as pink (a positive reaction) or not (a negative reaction). The positive reaction indicates the presence of chlorbutanol or a related drug in the greyhound. l'hc: ncgativc rcaction indicates that no drug of the group has bcen cletected. I n practice no other tnaterials interf re but the testing laboratory must be kept free of chloroform vapour. This is chccked by the simultaneous analysis of blank samples. During the operation of pre-race laboratories in Britain, over orle million samples have been analysed for chlorbutanol. One sample in every 2,4,00 gives a positive reaction. The actual nun~bcr of doninp incidents is much less than this due to the finding of

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many positives during one investigation. 'I'his number places chlorbutanol second to phenobarbitone (1 in 2,000) in popularity but either drug is more frequent than all other drugs together.

The function of the pre-race laboratory is to alert the authorities to th r presence of drugs in the greyhounds so that the racing may be adjusted as necessary and fiirther samples taken for post-race analysis. The substances detected are not identified a t a pre-race laboratory.

Post-race analysis is ncccssary as a back-up scrvicc for psc-racc screening and where nre-race analvsis is not available. The techniaues available for nost-racc analysis are tlivse riormally used in a fdly equipped analytical laboratory. They are used to establish the identity of the drug and if necessary measure the concentration. The staff must br fillly ciualifiecl and able to interpret their finclings both for the racing authorities and in a court of law. Only results obtained in such a laboratory by qualified analysts can be brought forward uscf~~llv as evidence.

i

The efftctiveness of the systems described above in (lie deteclion of chlor- butanol in greyhound urine has been checked many times by the examination of urine from grcyho~~ncls, givcn various doscs of thc drug, unrlcr cxperirnental and racing conditions. Occasiorially the alerlriess of the analyst is checked by presenting samples taken from treated greyhounds along with normal samplcs. The resulls sliow tllal tlle rrletliod is efcctive not orily iri the laboratory but also in the pre-race laboratory where time is very limited and tliere is pr5essur.r to get an answer quickly.

Conclusion Chlnrbutanol is one of the two most pol3ular drugs h r interfering with the

perlbrmance ol'racing greyhounds. Wllerl tlie clopel. is sulliciently experienced, it is probable that in many cases he can reduce the performance of a grcyhound by thc required amount. Howcvcr, protcction against doping in the fbrm of track and kennel security which l i ~ n ~ t s access to the greyhounds, is available togcthcr with veterinary cxaminations which chcck for physical well-being, and pt-c- anrl post-racc analysis which delects the cltug in grcyhound urine. Post- race analysis pi*ovidrs firrri rviderice of drugging for, any enquiry or trial. It follows from thc propcr application of thc availablc facilities that the un- cletcctcd doping of racing greyhounds with chlorbutannl is no longer possible.

Acknowledgement The authors wish to thank the National Greyliound Racing Club and the

Instaprint Services Ltd. for the provision of grants during the tenurc of which this work was carried out. They also thank the nlaily stadia and \vorkrr\ \ \h i ) took part in the various research prqjects.

References PIJJIWARA, K., 1916, S'itzbel-. Natzcrjbrsch. C,'ES. X o ~ t o c k , 6, 33. SMITH, H., 1970, Vet. Record, 86, 216. SMITII, H., 1977,J. Forens. Sci. Soc., 17, 21. SMITH, H. arid THORPE, ,J. W., 1977, *7. Ckrom., 134, 1711.