Muscle Sport Magazine

Steroids in the News…Again!

By Leigh Penman

Just as the ups and, mainly, downs of Wall Street seem to be forever in the news so does the use of anabolic steroids in various sports. This week saw the spotlight turning once again on the world of horse racing. On Tuesday (October 14) the New York Racing and Wagering Board let it be known that it is implementing new rules as regards the administration of anabolic steroids in the world of horse racing.

This is a follow up to the earlier revelation that the recently retired racehorse, Big Brown, was juiced on Winstrol whilst competing in the Kentucky Derby. Even though this was in fact entirely legal in terms of horseracing protocol, board chairman John D. Sabini stated in an article in the ‘Daily News’ that by imposing limits on four steroids currently used in horse racing New York would be leading the pack when it came to preserving integrity within the sport. He also made it clear that the intended message to owners and trainers was, “If you flaunt our steroid rules, you will be held accountable.”

According to the new rules, four steroids will be permitted for use by racehorses, but only one of the four may be found in the horse at any one time (therefore ‘no stacking on the track!’).

The four permitted steroids are: stanozolol (Winstrol), boldenone (Equipoise), nandrolone (Durabolin) and testosterone. The reasoning being that small concentrations of these substances would not be significant enough to affect a horse’s performance.
The rules will go into effect on January 1 2009.

CANSECO IN FERTILITY RAP!

Meanwhile on the human side of the anabolic coin, former slugger Jose Canseco was caught trying to smuggle the female fertility drug Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG) across the border from Mexico last week. Canseco, who authored the 2005 book “Juiced” exposing the use of anabolics in baseball, was charged with Introduction into Interstate Commerce of a Misbranded Drug (considered a misdemeanor).

According to the report, Canseco, a female driver and the female driver’s “minor daughter” were stopped by Customs and Border Protection agents entering California at the San Ysirdo checkpoint. An inspection of their vehicle revealed six vials of HCG and 10 syringes in the armrest compartment.

Canseco was detained for nine hours by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and had to consent to a search of his Los Angeles home as a precursor to his release. No drugs were found on inspection and Canseco was released pending a court date on Nov 4.

Canseco claimed that the drug was for personal use due to the fact that previous steroid use has left his testosterone levels extremely low necessitating a hormone therapy plan.
He also said that he was in Mexico seeking “inexpensive dental implant work”..So I guess he was doing a ‘Wal-Mart’ one stop-shopping trip!

Whatever the case, the fact remains that hard-core steroid use does lead to testicular atrophy, low testosterone and sperm counts in male athletes. The drug HCG is frequently used to prevent this. You wanna know a better way of preventing this condition? Stay away from ‘roids altogether!

Leigh Penman, in addition to be a staff writer at MuscleSport Mag, has been writing for bodybuilding magazines, websites and nutritional supplement companies since 1985. Whilst residing in the UK, she earned the reputation of being one of the top female writers in bodybuilding-related media. Her credits included being a contributing editor on all the magazines in production as well as filling the shoes of Ladies Editor and Showbiz Editor on two publications (the later being on Arnold’s sanctioned magazine, ‘Bodypower’). During this time she also competed successfully on four occasions (placing in the top four in all contests).

Relocating to New York in the late 1990s she focused her writing attention to crystal healing techniques and metaphysics – however, she still maintained a five day workout schedule during this time and gained her personal training certificate.

Having also studied pharmacology in relation to sports performance, her writing began taking her in that direction until the present day which sees her embarking on a return to the magazine world, as well as extending her web-related work in the bodybuilding and fitness field.

 

 

Leigh has been working out for close to thirty years so she is clearly a writer who ‘walks her talk.’
She can be contacted personally at zeal2heal@yahoo.com or you can also check her out at New York’s favorite metaphysical store www.stickstoneandbone.com
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