Is It Illegal to Give Bulking Steroids to Horses?

it is generally , but there are some steroids for medical purpose , but the horse has to be free of any on race day.

Yes, Yes, Yes. Even better..In March (2013) a bold move towards the uniform regulation of medication and drug testing in North American racing, the regulators of eight states in the Mid Atlantic and Northeast have committed to implement a uniform medication and drug testing program. The agreement, spearheaded by the Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association represents the most dramatic change in medication regulation and testing in the last 50 years and could pave the way for national uniformity. The participating state- New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia & Massachusetts will implement the Mid Atlantic Uniform Medication Program. The Program divides medications into two new categories, Controlled Therapeutic Substances and Prohibited Substances. The Controlled Therapeutic Substances category will limit horsemen and veterinarians to 24 medications that have been recognized as appropriate for therapeutic use in racehorses to treat illness or injury. These medications were identified following intensive consultation among the American Association of Equine Practitioners, the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium, the Association of Racing Commissioners International and the industry’s chemists and pharmacologists. These medications will each have a specific published restricted administration time and uniform laboratory detection level which, when combined, will enable the therapeutic treatment of the horse while ensuring that no pharmacologically significant residue of the medication will be present in the horse during a race. The presence of these and any other medication or drug in a sample collected from a horse will be strictly prohibited. The Controlled Therapeutic Substances are: Acepromazine, Betamethasone, Butorphanol, Clenbuterol, Dantrolene, Detomidine, Dexamethasone, Diclofenac, DMSO, Firocoxib, Flunixin, Furosemide, Glycopyrrolate, Ketoprofen, Lidocaine,Mepivacaine, Methocarbamol, Methylprednisolone, Omeprazole, Phenylbutazone, Prednisolone, Procaine Penicillin, Triamcinolone acetonide and Xylazine.

The testing laboratories of the participating states will uniformly test for these substances utilizing the same state-of-the-art technology and levels of detection. To ensure that the laboratories will be working uniformly and to the highest standard, each participating state will commit its laboratory to accreditation by the recently enacted RMTC Code of Standards for Drug Testing Laboratories.