This change to the Greyhound Racing New Zealand (GRNZ) Rules of Racing was approved by the GRNZ Board on Wednesday 11 August 2021 and will come into force on Friday 1 October 2021.

The Rule change is an amendment to the Definition of “Prohibited Substance”. Definition parts (iii), (iv), (v), (vi) and (vii) below are added to create thresholds for Cobalt, Arsenic, Testosterone in male greyhounds, Hydrocortisone, and Methoxytyramine.

The amendment:

Prohibited Substance means:

(a) Any substance capable of affecting a Greyhound by its action on the central or peripheral nervous system or any part of that system such as the autonomic nervous system, cardio-vascular system, respiratory system, alimentary-digestive system, musculoskeletal system or genitourinary system and includes without limitation analgesics, antihistamines, anti-inflammatory agents, blood coagulants, diuretics, hormones and their synthetic counterparts, stimulants, corticosteroids, anabolic steroids, local anaesthetics, muscle relaxants and tranquillisers.

(b) Substances administered to disguise or make undetectable, or attempt to disguise or make undetectable, the administration of any of the substances in paragraph (a) above.

(c) A metabolite, isomer or artefact of any of the substances referred to in paragraphs (a) or (b) above irrespective of whether such metabolite, isomer or artefact has any pharmacological effect or not.

(d) Unusual or abnormal amounts of endogenous substances including but not limited to cortisol and testosterone.

provided that the following are excluded from the definition of Prohibited Substances:

(i) Testosterone as evidenced by the presence of 5-androstane-3, 17-diol at or below a concentration of 10 nanograms per millilitre in a Sample of urine taken from a bitch will not breach the provisions of subrule (d) of this definition.

(ii) Ethanol as evidenced by the presence of ethyl glucuronide and ethyl sulphate at or below a concentration of 20 micrograms per millilitre in a Sample of urine taken from a Greyhound will not breach the provisions of subrule (d) of this definition.

(iii) Cobalt at or below a mass concentration of 100 nanograms per millilitre in a Sample of urine taken from a greyhound will not breach the provisions of subrule (d) of this definition.

(iv) Arsenic at or below a mass concentration of 800 nanograms per millilitre in a Sample of urine taken from a greyhound will not breach the provisions of subrule (d) of this definition.

(v) Testosterone as evidenced by the presence of 5-androstane-3, 17-diol at or below a concentration of 100 nanograms per millilitre in a Sample of urine taken from a male greyhound will not breach the provisions of subrule (d) of this definition.

(vi) Hydrocortisone (cortisol) as evidenced by the presence of hydrocortisone at or below a mass concentration of 1000 nanograms per millilitre in a Sample of urine taken from a greyhound will not breach the provisions of subrule (d) of this definition.

(vii) 3-methoxytyramine at or below a mass concentration of 1600 nanograms per millilitre in a Sample of urine taken from a greyhound will not breach the provisions of subrule (d) of this definition.

Dated at Wellington this 17th day of September 2021.

SEAN HANNAN, Chairman, Greyhound Racing New Zealand.