Racing: Fresh claims on doping

THE BBC confirmed yesterday that fresh evidence which it claims to point to widespread doping would be made available to the Jockey Club. The claims are part of an On The Line programme on racing due to be shown soon.

A BBC spokesman said: 'The Jockey Club may well be shocked at the inadequacies of the various systems that have been put in place to prevent doping. We are quite happy to make the programme's findings available to the Jockey Club in the hope that they can tighten up the system.

'Many people have spoken to On The Line on a confidential basis about the problems of doping. We respect that confidence and none of them will be named or identified in any way. The programme does not seek to bring racing into disrepute. We believe it will reveal information that will allow the Jockey Club to act and put an end to doping.'

The Jockey Club said earlier yesterday it was contacting the makers of the series, the 'Drug Runners' edition of which will be on BBC2 on 28 July. The programme alleges an increasing number of horses are being 'nobbled'. A man claiming to be a member of a doping gang names favourites that, he says, have been 'stopped' since the late Eighties. He claims the work is funded by unscrupulous bookmakers who stood to make large amounts of money.