NEWS
Consortium moves forward on drug testing
Posted: Friday, September 26, 2008 6:54 PM
by Jeff Lowe
The Racing Medication and Testing Consortium enacted a drug-testing initiative on September 24 aimed at developing laboratory and testing standards comparable to the World Anti-Doping Agency model.
The consortium said the initiative directly stemmed from Alan Foreman’s call during the Jockey Club Round Table Conference on Matters Pertaining to Racing on August 17 for a major reorganization of drug testing in the United States. Foreman, the president of the Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, said the industry needs to dedicate more than the $30-million allocated to drug testing spread among 18 laboratories in the 38 racing jurisdictions in the U.S.
The consortium plan calls for five action points:
• Development of laboratory standards and accreditation criteria to International Organization for Standardization standards;
• Expansion of current quality assurance and laboratory proficiency programs;
• Development of a business plan for the U.S. drug-testing infrastructure, including industry-sponsored research and reference equine drug-testing laboratories;
• Establishment of a post doctoral and grad student recruitment program for drug-testing research and laboratory staff development; and
• Review of current sample collection strategies, including long-term storage of frozen samples.
Specific tasks with definitive timelines and responsible subcommittees were reviewed and authorized by the consortium board with preliminary work to begin immediately. The plan follows the Thoroughbred Safety Committee’s recommendations on drug testing that were outlined at the Jockey Club Round Table Conference.
“This is an opportunity to move equine drug testing in this country to a new level, said Rick Arthur, D.V.M., equine medical director of the California Horse Racing Board. “Dr. Don Catlin, founder and former director of the UCLA Olympic Analytical Laboratory, recommended the [World Anti-Doping Agency] model for equine drug testing at the Grayson-Jockey Club Welfare and Safety Summit this spring, and he was absolutely correct. We shouldn’t settle for less.”
The consortium also is moving closer to recommending plasma threshold levels and withdrawal times for the anabolic steroids stanozolol, testosterone, boldenone, and nandrolone.
Final recommendations on plasma levels are expected to be approved as a model rule by the consortium and the Association of Racing Commissioners International by early December. Rick Sams, Ph.D, the consortium’s chemist adviser, is overseeing anabolic steroid research for the groups at the University of Florida.
Scot Waterman, D.V.M, the consortium’s executive director, said 16 pari-mutuel racing states have now adopted the recommended model rule on anabolic steroids, with 16 more states in the adoption process.
“RMTC officers have been encouraged by the recent adoptions of the model rule by Maryland, Louisiana and Ohio,” said Waterman. “The states now on board with this rule represent more than 90% of the pari-mutuel handle, and we are optimistic that the industry is on its way to banning steroids from virtually all horse racing competition in 2009."
Jeff Lowe is a Thoroughbred Times staff writer
