One of the most famous scientists and steroid detectives in the world, Dr. Don Catlin, has turned his sights to horses. Today's blog post is taken from my profile of Catlin in the new issue of Keeneland magazine (Winter, 2009). 

Catlin is the scientist wholly responsible for busting steroid-using athletes such as major league baseball player Barry Bonds and track star Marion Jones. Now, in partnership with the Jockey Club, he is heading up the Equine Drug Research Institute.

    Steroid detective Dr. Don Catlin. 

The institute will, at no charge, create and provide drug tests to labs across the nation that test equines. Catlin is determined to help clean up racing. What impressed me most about him was that he spent three decades, –  that's three decades! – working on the issue of illegal drugs in human sports before the world took notice. That's patience. 

I was working at the San Francisco Chronicle when the story about S.F. Giant Barry Bonds broke. It was devastating to learn that an athlete so many of us admired was not what he appeared to be. I respect Catlin for his commitment to integrity and to preserving the beauty and grace of sports based on natural greatness alone, whether that athlete is two-footed or four-footed. 

In the meantime, Equine ER is taking Thanksgiving off. This holiday gives me the opportunity to say thank you to all of you who read the blog and, of course, to those of you who have bought  Equine ER. We'll be back next week with more excerpts and more original content – Leslie Guttman