Doping case shows urgent need to ramp up security at tracks, says trainers' body

Blanket CCTV coverage of racecourse stables should be a priority for the sport, according to the body which represents trainers. The National Trainers Federation has made the call in response to the Ladies First doping case, which recently resulted in two men being banned from the sport for ten years.

The incident left Mick and David Easterby worrying about what would have happened if there had been no camera pointing directly at the Newcastle stable box which housed their filly when she was fed the beta blocker Timolol before a race in 2018.

"Without the CCTV evidence, it would have been very difficult for the panel to reach the truth of this matter," the NTF noted in its statement, adding that, although there has been a general requirement for cameras in racecourse stables for years, there are still boxes at some tracks which are not covered.

The number of affected tracks is not clear, with one source suggesting around a fifth of British courses still have work to do in this area, while another source suggests the problem is less extensive.

As a result of the Ladies First case, the NTF raised this as a concern with the ruling body and a new policy was devised last year under which trainers are now notified when they are allocated a stable without coverage.

"Whilst this is a satisfactory interim measure, we would like to see full CCTV coverage across racecourse stables as soon as is practicably possible," the NTF said. "We cannot understate the importance of having confidence that racecourse stables are a secure area."

The disciplinary panel published its reasons at the end of last week, saying Newcastle's procedures were "wholly inadequate" in relation to the two men, who were casual employees with seemingly unrestricted access to the stables.

"Hopefully, over three years later, the position is wholly different," the panel said, "but if it has not already done so, we would invite the BHA to rigorously inspect the current situation."

In a 2019 case involving an unexplained positive test, another disciplinary panel noted that the horse in question had been stabled in a box not covered by CCTV. Two years before that, CCTV footage from Southwell was not recovered in time to show whether Hughie Morrison's Our Little Sister had been doped while in the racecourse stable. Tracks are obliged to store footage for 60 days after a fixture.

Read more:

'We're really looking forward to it' – Pipe to take wraps off Adagio in Kingwell

Haydock 'cautiously optimistic' for Saturday despite storm warnings

The Front Runner is our latest email newsletter available exclusively to Members' Club Ultimate subscribers. Chris Cook, a four-time Racing Reporter of the Year award winner, provides his take on the day's biggest stories and tips for the upcoming racing every morning from Monday to Friday