A Stop Horseracing Article from All-Creatures.org

Animal venom seized by customs agents likely headed for horse trainers ahead of May 4 Kentucky Derby

FROM Tuesday's Horse
May 2024

Stimulants are used to give a horse extra temporary energy. Pain relieving drugs are used to mask pain that may result from disease or injury. Different natural herbs, snake venom, spider venom, they might reduce muscle soreness or lactic acid. Horses will get ulcers that are painful that might come up from nerves.

Venom from snakes, spiders, and scorpions were intercepted, and customs agents said it was likely headed for horse trainers.

The timing is no coincidence with The Kentucky Derby coming up on Saturday, May 4.

Since the beginning of the year, United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents have discovered eight packages. Inside of those packages were bottles labeled with things like “tiger blood” and ones with scorpions and spiders on the side.

Agents said some of the supply found in Cincinnati was headed to horse tracks and had originally arrived from Mexico.

In her decades of breeding horses, Bridget Brandon said this is far too common. A lot of these things are used to numb the pain for horses, allowing them to perform at a higher level. With the amount of money on the line, Brandon said there are people who will go to extreme measures just to get a leg up on the competition.

Different natural herbs, snake venom, spider venom, they might reduce muscle soreness or lactic acid. Horses will get ulcers that are painful that might come up from nerves.

“Different natural herbs, snake venom, spider venom, they might reduce muscle soreness or lactic acid. Horses will get ulcers that are painful that might come up from nerves,” said Brandon who is an equine expert. “They look for things to help reduce the pain to make them feel better.”

Brandon said this can create more serious injuries for animals down the line because they’re only masking the pain, not getting rid of it.

The use of snake venom and other performance enhancers in horse racing has been part of several federal investigations and has led to dozens of indictments.

Locating the shipments was a combined effort from the CBP and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. These eight shipments included:

• Injectable cobra venom
• Spidermorph
• Scorpioadrenalin
• TB-1000
• Caffeine
• Anabolic steroids
• Unknown vitamin compounds
• Ritalin
• Ketamine

“Kentucky is known as the horse capital of the world,” said Cincinnati Port Director Alrick Brooks. “And the equine industry is a prominent part of the U.S. agricultural economy. CBP is committed to protecting this industry and the animals within it by preventing illicit substances such as these—designed to mask pain or artificially enhance an animal’s legitimate physical capabilities—from coming into the country.”

Stimulants are used to give a horse extra temporary energy. Pain relieving drugs are used to mask pain that may result from disease or injury. Certain drugs can also be used to control pulmonary bleeding (EIPH) resulting from over-exertion in racing.*

The shipments seized by CBP were done at the request of the FDA, given that the medications were not in compliance with the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. The shipments were also violating multiple other FDA regulations. 

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