Prohibited substance cases under FEI anti-doping rules

The FEI has announced new adverse analytical findings (AAF) involving equine prohibited substances. The cases involve *Banned Substances under the FEI’s Equine Anti-Doping and Controlled Medication Regulations (EADCMRs).

The first case involves a second violation with the same athlete, horse and prohibited substance. The athlete had already been provisionally suspended from the date of the first notification, 7 February 2019, until the FEI Tribunal renders its decision. The horse had already been provisionally suspended for two months from the date of the first notification until 6 April 2019.

Horse: Sarem (FEI ID105MZ22/KSA)
Person Responsible: Ahmad Althmaly (FEI ID 10134840/KSA)
Trainer: Ahmad Althmaly (FEI ID 10134840/KSA)
Event: CEI2* 120 - Al Ula (KSA), 02.02.2019
Prohibited Substance(s): Stanozolol
Date of Second Notification: 4 March 2019

The athletes in the following three cases have been provisionally suspended from the date of notification until the FEI Tribunal renders its decision. The horses have been provisionally suspended for two months from the date of notification.

Horse: Walfan (FEI ID 104ZY27/KSA)
Person Responsible: Rafea Alamri (FEI ID 10102507/KSA)
Trainer: Rafea Alamri (FEI ID 10102507/KSA)
Event: CEI2* 120 - Al Ula (KSA), 02.02.2019
Prohibited Substance(s): Reserpine, Heptaminol, Phenylbutazone, Oxyphenbutazone
Date of Notification: 4 March 2019

Horse: Moro Tianko (FEI ID 104CS28/KSA)
Person Responsible: Mohammed Alalewi (FEI ID 10112634/KSA)
Trainer: Mohammed Alalewi (FEI ID 10112634/KSA)
Event: CEI2* 120 - Al Ula (KSA), 02.02.2019
Prohibited Substance(s): Tolfenamic Acid, Lidocaine, Flunixin, Diclofenac, Phenylbutazone, Oxyphenbutazone
Date of Notification: 4 March 2019

Horse: Denitha (FEI ID 104MR05/ UAE)
Person Responsible: Abdul Rahman Ahmed Ameen (FEI ID 10064049/UAE)
Event: CSI5*-W - Sharjah (UAE), 30/01/2019 - 02/02/2019
Prohibited Substance(s): Strychnine
Date of Notification: 4 March 2019

Horse: Leslie O’ Nil (FEI ID 105PA88/FRA)
Person Responsible: Ludovic Saroul (FEI ID 10014413/FRA)
Event: CEI2* 120 - Al Ula (KSA), 02.02.2019
Prohibited Substance(s): Mephentermine, Oxetacaine
Date of Notification: 11 March 2019

Details on these cases can be found here.

Separately, the FEI Tribunal has issued its Final Decisions in five cases involving prohibited substances.

Canadian athlete Mario Deslauriers (FEI ID: 10002174/CAN) competed with the horse Bardolina 2 (FEI ID: 104TU30/USA) at the FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ Final (CSIO5*) in Barcelona (ESP), 5-7 October 2018. Samples taken from the horse tested positive for the Banned Substance O-Desmethylvenlafaxine. The FEI Tribunal accepted that the athlete bore no significant fault or negligence for the rule violation, as he was able to prove that the presence of the Banned Substance was due to human contamination. The Tribunal accepted the agreement reached between the FEI and the athlete, which was submitted on 21 February 2019. The results achieved by the athlete and the horse at the event were disqualified.

The second case involves the horse Tina La Boheme (FEI ID: 104IJ07/USA) ridden by athlete Mohammed Ahmed Al Owais (FEI ID: 10040940/UAE) at the CSI2* in Abu Dhabi (UAE), 14-16 February 2018. The horse tested positive for the Banned Substance Diisopropylamine. The athlete was given a 24-month period of ineligibility, of which two months were suspended for substantial assistance. The suspension runs until 18 January 2020. The athlete was also fined CHF 6,500 and must pay the cost of the B sample analysis and CHF 3,000 for legal costs. The horse and athlete were disqualified from the entire event.

Three other cases involved Regional Games. Jumping athlete Alvaro Enrique Tejada Arriola (FEI ID: 10000668/GUA) competed with the horse Dolly Palo Blanco (104PR65/GUA) at the Central America and Caribbean Games (CAC Games), 25-29 July 2018. The horse tested positive to the Banned Substance Diisopropylamine. The athlete was suspended for 12 months from the date of sample collection, 29 July 2018, until 28 July 2019. He was also fined CHF 3,000 and required to pay CHF 2,000 legal costs. All results of the athlete with any horses recorded between the date of sample collection (29 July 2018) and provisional suspension of the athlete (5 September 2018) have been disqualified.

The horse Le Vio (FEI ID: 104XU60/USA), ridden by Jumping athlete Pablo Barrios (FEI ID: 10002446/VEN) at the CAC Games, tested positive to the Controlled Medication substances Caffeine and Theophylline, which are designated as **Specified Substances. The athlete was suspended for six months from the date of notification of the Final Decision, 15 February 2019, until 14 August 2019. He was also fined CHF 3,000 and requested to pay CHF 1,500 CHF legal costs.

The horse Adventure E (FEI ID: 104CT35/USA) ridden by Jumping athlete Colin Syquia (FEI ID: 10040002/PHI) at the South-East Asian (SEA) Games in Kuang Rawang (MAS), 25-28 August 2017, tested positive to the Banned Substance Clomethiazole. As the athlete had been provisionally suspended from the date of notification (21 September 2017) until this was lifted on application to the FEI Tribunal on 30 September 2018, no further period of ineligibility was imposed. The athlete was fined CHF 3,000 and was requested to pay CHF 1,500 legal costs. The athlete/horse combination was disqualified from the event.

The athletes have 21 days to appeal the decisions to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) from the date of notification of the Final Decisions.

The FEI Tribunal’s decisions can be found here.

Notes to Editors:

FEI Equine Prohibited Substances

The FEI Prohibited Substances List is divided into two sections: Controlled Medication and *Banned Substances. Controlled Medication substances are those that are regularly used to treat horses, but which must have been cleared from the horse’s system by the time of competition. Banned (doping) Substances should never be found in the body of the horse and are prohibited at all times.

In the case of an adverse analytical finding (AAF) for a Banned Substance, the Person Responsible (PR) is automatically provisionally suspended from the date of notification (with the exception of certain cases involving a Prohibited Substance which is also a **Specified Substance). The horse is provisionally suspended for two months.

Information on all substances is available on the searchable FEI Equine Prohibited Substances Database.

**Specified Substances

The FEI introduced the concept of Specified Substances in 2016. Specified Substances should not in any way be considered less important or less dangerous than other Prohibited Substances (i.e. whether Banned or Controlled). Rather, they are simply substances which are more likely to have been ingested by horses for a purpose other than the enhancement of sport performance, for example, through a contaminated food substance. Positive cases involving Specified Substances can be handled with a greater degree of flexibility within the structure of the FEI Regulations.