Jockey Club and trainers set to clash over use of medication

Hong Kong trainers are on a collision course with the Jockey Club's veterinary department over restrictions on the use of the headline-grabbing medication, Sputolosin.

The mucus-reducing medication - Sputolosin is a trade name for the generic drug Dembrexine - was at the centre of a major inquiry two years ago when French trainer Patrick Biancone was fined $250,000 for its indiscriminate administration.

Sputolosin is widely administered to Hong Kong horses but, in common with all other prohibited substances, must not be given to horses in a seven-day period before they race.

The veterinary department issued an instruction on July 1 to all trainers that the cut-off period would henceforth be 14 days, rather than seven.

There has been a groundswell of opposition to the restrictions and it was disclosed yesterday that representatives of the trainers and the Jockey Club's racing department would meet shortly to discuss the issue.

Chief veterinary surgeon Keith Watkins said: 'Basically, it has been done because the laboratory was reporting that minute specks were showing up on test samples when the threshold for administering Sputolosin was seven days. This is really a safety measure.' With virtually all trainers away from Hong Kong when the original notice was issued, opposition has only increased in recent days.

But it is now understood that up to 16 trainers are opposed to the changes in the rules involving the administration of Sputolosin, which is widely seen as being a major aid.