Newmarket trainer Gerard Butler has been charged on seven counts by the British Horseracing Authority over use of the drug “Sungate” after nine horses under his care tested positive for the banned anabolic steroid stanozolol. Butler has admitted using the drug to treat joint injuries, but claims to have received assurances about Sungate from a veterinary practice. The drug is legal in Britain when imported under licence, but its active ingredient is prohibited in horseracing. Butler has been charged with acting in a manner prejudicial to the integrity, proper conduct and/or good reputation of horseracing by administering the steroid. Further charges relate to injecting horses' joints himself, contrary to the rules of racing, and charges of failing to keep a proper record of medical treatments. The date of Butler's BHA disciplinary hearing has yet to be announced.
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