France Galop determined to fight doping after TV show revisits old allegations

France Galop president Edouard de Rothschild has written to the main parties in French racing to underline the governing body's determination to fight doping in all its forms.

His message was delivered as France 2, the country's most watched public channel, aired a documentary entitled 'Racing - the big cheat?'

Broadcast on Thursday evening, the show revisited the ongoing judicial investigations into Andrea Marcialis as well as Frederic, Cedric and Charley Rossi. All four trainers are suspended while public prosecutors investigate charges of doping and organised crime, which each of them denies.

The programme carried testimony from one of Marcialis' former employees, although the voiceover later identified them as one of 12 people under investigation in the case, as well as a phone interview with the Group 1-winning trainer in which he declared: "I have never doped my horses."

Rothschild said of France Galop's dealings with the programme's makers: "The fight against the doping of horses being our absolute priority, we chose to respond to their requests transparently, in the hope that this spirit of dialogue and communication would inspire them to treat the subject objectively.

Edouard de Rothschild: the fight against doping 'an absolute priority' for France GalopCredit: Eamonn M. McCormack (Getty Images)

"We replied to their numerous questions, bearing in mind we're following with the utmost attention the current judicial procedures around the suspicion of doping in the racing world, and that racing's governing bodies were involved in the passing of law to allow criminal proceedings in cases of doping."

Rothschild went on to unequivocally condemn the "isolated cases", before affirming his belief that professionals in France defend the sport's integrity "with rigour and passion on a daily basis".

Although presenter Tristan Waldeckx opened the show by posing the question as to whether the nearly seven million people in France who bet annually on racing and trotting were being cheated, the show began by following a former veterinary investigator, Jacques Nardin, around an endurance racing event in the south-west of France.

The lead investigator in the film also favoured doorstepping various protagonists after they declined interview requests, including Cedric and Charley Rossi, as well as Rothschild, who she attempted to interview in the parade ring at Chantilly on Prix de Diane day.

Ludovic Bailly-Chouriberry: the director of French racing's LCH laboratory was interviewedCredit: Racing Post / Scott Burton

As stated by Rothschild's letter, racing's governors gave some cooperation to the film makers, allowing a crew into the National Racing Laboratory, where the director Ludovic Bailly-Chouriberry and senior scientist Helene Bourguignon were interviewed.

Additionally, crews were allowed to film at Saint-Cloud and Chantilly, and race footage was made available, while the secretary general of the Federation National des Courses Hippiques, Pierre Preaud, was interviewed by Waldeckx at the end of the programme.

Preaud refuted one of the key claims made over the preceding hour, namely that many illegal substances are more easily detected before a race than immediately afterwards.

Read more on this subject:

Andrea Marcialis banned until April 2025 for series of 'deliberate doping' acts

Trainer indicted on charges of doping, organised crime and forgery

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