While horse racing is often a mixed-gender affair, there are mare-only events as well. As with human competitors, the female horses are also tested for performance enhancing drugs.
Australian horse Tuscan Abbe was tested following a convincing win, and her testosterone levels were "through the roof," not from doping, it turns out, but because she has internal testicles producing abnormal quantities of testosterone for a mare. American horse Martha Maxine has been reclassified as a genetic male, unsuitable for breeding purposes. Australian horse What Am I and American horse Arizona Helen have similar issues.
For horses inter-gender detection can be more difficult because unlike most mammals, a male horse has no teats. This means that seeing teats on a horse induces a strong assumption that the horse is, in fact, female, which is not, in fact, always entirely accurate.
It is not clear whether the inter-gender status of racehorses is a recent phenomenon or if it is only more commonly detected now due to improved laboratory tests and veterinary technology.
Sources:
Associated Press
Yahoo News Canada (photo)
Harness Racing
Standard Bred Canada
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