The Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit (HIWU), the independent enforcement agency of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority's (HISA) Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) program, has reached arrangements with all state racing commissions and/or racetracks that will be conducting live racing on or soon after the implementation of the ADMC Program, which is anticipated to be March 27. The laboratories that will be conducting testing under the program have also been confirmed.
“HIWU appreciates the opportunity to engage with state racing commissions, racetracks, and laboratories in the implementation of a national, uniform ADMC program,” said Ben Mosier, executive director of HIWU. “We are confident that all our arrangements will facilitate uniform compliance with the ADMC program to ensure its consistency and effectiveness.”
Once the ADMC program takes effect, the following states and/or racetracks will continue to provide sample collection personnel services by utilizing their current staff, who will have been trained and certified by HIWU. Voluntary agreements have either been signed or will be signed before the first day of racing under the new ADMC Rules with the following entities:
- Arkansas Racing Commission
- California Horse Racing Board
- Florida Gaming Control Commission, in cooperation with Gulfstream Park and Tampa Bay Downs
- Kentucky Horse Racing Commission
- Maryland Racing Commission
- New York Racing Association (except post-race testing)
- Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission
- Will Rogers Downs
For the following states and/or racetracks, HIWU has either contracted directly with existing personnel or has hired its own sample collection personnel to implement the ADMC Program. There is therefore no signed voluntary agreement with the following entities:
- Arizona Department of Gaming (Division of Racing)
- Finger Lakes
- Illinois Racing Board
- New York Gaming Commission (post-race testing only)
- Ohio State Racing Commission
HIWU is also engaging with state racing commissions and racetracks that are racing after mid-April and will announce those relationships prior to such time.
Laboratories must be accredited by the Racing Medication & Testing Consortium to be eligible to conduct testing as part of HISA's ADMC program, and must meet additional criteria determined by HIWU. HIWU has entered into contracts with the following laboratories to analyze samples collected under the ADMC program:
- Analytical Toxicology Laboratory (Ohio Department of Agriculture)
- Animal Forensic Toxicology Laboratory (University of Illinois-Chicago)
- Industrial Laboratories
- Kenneth L. Maddy Equine Analytical Chemistry Laboratory (University of California, Davis)
- Pennsylvania Equine Toxicology and Research Laboratory
- University of Kentucky Equine Analytical Chemistry Laboratory
“For the first time, racing's labs will be harmonized and held to the same performance standards nationwide,” said Mosier. “Thoroughbred racehorses will be tested for the same substances at the same levels, regardless of where they are located or compete.”
Lab accreditation will eventually transition to the HISA Equine Analytical Laboratory standards, which will not take effect before 2024.
The Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit (HIWU) was established in 2022 by Drug Free Sport International to administer the rules and enforcement mechanisms of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority's (HISA) Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) program. The ADMC program will create a centralized testing and results management process and apply uniform penalties for violations efficiently and consistently across all American Thoroughbred racing jurisdictions that HISA governs. HIWU will oversee testing, educate stakeholders on the new program, accredit laboratories, investigate potential violations, and prosecute any such violations. For more information, please visit hiwu.org.
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