By Barry Irwin -- Racing folks viewing the telecast of the
Winter Olympics are forgiven for shaking in their slippers after
two long-distance skiers were stripped of gold medals. Officials
DQ'd the skiers when tests made it clear that the red blood cell
count of the athletes had been enhanced chemically. An
abnormally high red blood cell count makes it possible for
muscles to utilize more oxygen, thereby delaying fatigue, a
handy asset for an athlete involved in endurance sports.
Shaking commenced when the commentator revealed the illegal
substance used was darbepoetin, an erythropoietin-like drug that
reportedly is 10 times stronger than EPO. The new drug of
choice, like many of its modern predecessors, was designed for
humans, in this case to aid kidney patients with anemia.  A lot
has been written recently about whether use of illegal drugs in
horse racing is rampant. Those who say a problem does not exist
ask those who believe one does to prove it.  Therein lies a
Catch-22 whose main beneficiaries are th