by Tom Law

None of the 22 tests requested by buyers at the recently concluded Fasig-Tipton Kentucky July sale of selected yearlings came back positive for anabolic steroids.

The July sale was the first major North American yearling sale where steroid tests were offered and the first time Fasig-Tipton Co. offered the tests to buyers. The conditions for the July sale included a 45-day ban on anabolic steroids, easily on the biggest hot-button issues in the Thoroughbred industry this year.

Buyers of yearlings had the option to test any yearlings purchased for a fee of $500.

“Quite honestly, we’re not surprised by them,” Fasig-Tipton’s director of marketing, Terence Collier, said of the results. “But we weren’t anticipating one thing or another with the tests.”

If any of the horses had tested positive, the seller would have been required to pay the $500 and the buyer would have gained the right to void the sale.

Tom Law is managing editor of Thoroughbred Times