The National Horseracing Authority of Southern Africa (NHA) confirms a reported Prohibited Substance finding. 

The presence of Butorphanol, an opioid analgesic classified as a Class 2 Prohibited Substance, was disclosed upon analysis of a specimen taken from VJ’S ANGEL at the Vaal Racecourse on 29 April 2025. The specimen was taken after the horse was presented for testing to determine whether a suspension should be lifted. 

Butorphanol is a short-acting pain-relief medication commonly used in horses to manage colic pain or to provide sedation for x-rays in combination with other drugs. Its administration was correctly recorded in the trainer’s Veterinary Treatment Register (VTR). 

The Trainer responsible, Mr A P Peter, provided mitigating circumstances, stating that he was neither directly nor indirectly involved in the administration of the substance; that it was administered without his instruction or knowledge; and that at the time the horse was presented for testing, he was unaware that the horse had been medicated in his absence by a veterinary surgeon acting under the instruction of a bloodstock agent, for the purposes of obtaining an X-ray. 

However, as the person responsible in terms of the Rules of the NHA, Mr Peter elected to sign an Admission of Guilt for a contravention of Rule 73.2.6. A penalty of R55 000.00 (Fifty-Five Thousand Rand) was imposed, R30 000.00 of which is suspended for a period of twelve (12) months, on condition that no further contraventions of Rules 73 or 74 occur during this period. 

In determining the penalty, careful consideration was given to the class of substance involved, the Trainer’s record and the concentration of the substance detected in the specimen. 

Vee Moodley

Chief Executive