The San Isidro Festival in Madrid is the biggest event on the bullfighting calendar; a week of continuous partying, processions and bull runs that could make or break a matador’s reputation. This year the bulls will be subjected to strict doping tests to find if they have been given banned drugs.

According to the Times of London, “laboratory technicians will not, however, be looking for the type of performance-enhancing drugs taken by athletes. Officials fear that bulls are being drugged with tranquillizers to make them less aggressive, giving matadors a crucial edge in the contest.”

On May 8, the week-long festival begins. This will be the first time that doping tests have been carried out at Las Ventas bullring, which is regarded by aficionados’ as the spiritual home of the sport. Any bull exhibiting “strange behavior” in the ring will undergo drug testing, according to Spain’s El Mundo newspaper.

To read the entire article from the Times, link here:

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