State gaming officials in Hartford, Conn., have...

State gaming officials in Hartford, Conn., have found evidence that beef fed to racing dogs at Plainfield Racing Park is tainted with potentially harmful drugs, a published report said.

Dr. Phyllis A. Syres of the state’s Division of Special Revenue told The Hartford Courant that tests conducted during the past two months show beef fed to the greyhounds at the track contained sulfamethazine and sulfadimethoxine.

State regulations prohibit dogs with drugs in their system from racing. Syres stressed it was unlikely the drugs affected the performance of many of the dogs, if any.

Evidence from urine samples of 26 greyhounds taken in September led the gaming division to seek samples of the meat eaten by the dogs, Syres said.

The meat samples were obtained from unopened packets provided by various kennels. The meats were tested at the University of Connecticut at Storrs.

“We now believe to our satisfaction that (the meat) was not being tainted by the trainers,” Syres said. “The FDA is going to come in with us and see if we can solve the problem.”