As many as three harness pony drivers have been banned from competing at Vesey Street after their ponies tested positive for banned performance enhancing substances during recent random drugs scans, The Royal Gazette can reveal.

Over the years the stakes in local harness racing have risen and competition intensified, which may have led to the recent discovery of competitors having "injected" their ponies with drugs to give them the inside track to victory.

It is understood two ponies tested posiitve for caffeine while the other was found to have been injected with Bute, an anti flammatory substance that derives from the same family as aspirin.

In their efforts to ensure a level playing field, during the course of the harness racing season the Driving Horse and Pony Club (DHP) conduct random drug testing in which a specified number of ponies are subjected to be tested for banned substances such as caffeine, testosterone and any other anabolic steriod.

DHPC president Nick DeCosta could not be reached for comment yesterday. However, reliable harness racing sources confirmed that three riders had been slapped with lengthy bans after their ponies failed drugs scans.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, one source told this newspaper: "Everybody wants to win and now some riders have resorted to injecting their ponies with performance enhancing drugs.

"Just a few weeks ago they had the veterinarians come down here (Vesey Street) to do drug tests and some of the ponies tested positive, resulting in three riders being suspended from racing for a year."

Anabolic steroids such as the male hormone testosterone are used on ponies to promote muscle growth and can enhance the condition of anaemic animals and positively affect performance and weight gain and are also used as an appetite stimulant.

But there are also risks would-be drug cheats take when subjecting their ponies to steroid use as studies have proven that horses treated over an extended period will grow dependent upon anabolic steroids for functions that their bodies would perform were they not treated with the drug.

When the administration of steroids is suddenly ceased, the pony's endocrine system is not prepared to handle the sudden loss of treatment.

Studies have suggested that ponies treated with Adreno-corticotrophic hormones (ACTH) over an extended period will have the natural production of ACTH provided by the pituitary gland decrease and eventually stop. This in turn causes the adrenal cortex gland to shrink and stop functioning, which also causes natural steroid production to halt as well.

Overall, the pony's system is completely confused by the overabundance of artificially administered substances to the body, and will often develop a kind of addiction to the steroids.