26mi235 wrote:
Doping definitely is an issue in horse racing. In fact, the fellow who is the lead owner of the horse that won the Kentucky Derby has been a long-term critic of the practices that are legal in some states (Lasix?). He happens to be a long-term track and filed aficionado, by the way, and posts on te Track and Field News board under Mr. Bowie, I think.
Probably a very high percentage of Americans believe that drugs work. Americans are bombarded with drug ads on tv and the internet 24/7. Americans think they need drugs to sleep, to wake up, to digest food, to pee, crap, and whoever knows what else. This attitude has been promoted to the Americans and other countries (Britain etc) for more than a century.
This does not mean that drugs help people to run any faster, but simply that most Americans believe that they do. Old habits die hard. It's a belief that is false.