anti-doping | Horse Racing Free Tips

RMTC Announces Post-Doctorate Fellowship Program

Edited Press Release

Racing Medication and Testing Consortium (RMTC) has announced their support of post-doctoral training by funding a Fellowship Program beginning in 2022.

The need for establishing such a program is two-fold:

To promote a sustained research program with a core focus on anti-doping, to include topics related to drug testing, development of new analytical methods with application to racing chemistry, pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics, forensic toxicology, or other related disciplines. The future of horseracing's anti-doping programs requires mentoring young scientists to become researchers, racing laboratory directors, and industry leaders. Innovation and application of newer, more sophisticated technological advancements will come from those young scientists.

To establish a mechanism to identify, recruit, and retain young scientists and encourage their research pursuits relevant to horse racing's need for a rigorous anti-doping program and the promotion of enhanced safety for racehorses.

“The recruitment and retention of motivated, highly trained personnel and support competitive research programs are critical to anti-doping, medication control, and racing safety programs, said Dr. Mary Scollay, Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer. “The racing industry has a responsibility to solicit qualified individuals, support their advanced training, provide incentives for relevant research programs, and foster productivity in research laboratories.”

Relevant fields of study have historically included veterinary pharmacology, veterinary or human toxicology, and analytical chemistry. More recently other disciplines, including genetics, biophysics, and immunology have become relevant to anti-doping. Scientists trained in these disciplines are encouraged to apply for the Fellowships.

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Unable To Reach Final Terms: Horseracing Integrity And Safety Authority Suspends Negotiations With USADA

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) announced the suspension of negotiations pertaining to USADA's potential future role as the independent enforcement agency for HISA's Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) program. As mandated by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act of 2020, USADA and HISA had been engaged in good faith negotiations but were unable to reach final terms. To date, USADA has led the process of authoring draft rules for HISA's ADMC program. As set forth in the HISA statute, the Authority is evaluating options for engagement with other leading independent enforcement agencies.

The draft Racetrack Safety regulations that were submitted to the FTC earlier this month will be implemented as scheduled by the FTC on July 1, 2022, following review, public comment and education periods. There will be a temporary delay in submission of the Anti-Doping and Medication Control draft rules to the FTC until a new independent agency can be identified and an agreement finalized. This will allow HISA and another independent enforcement agency to reach an agreement and build on the progress that has been made to-date with USADA. HISA anticipates this process will permit the full implementation of the final ADMC rules in early 2023.

“We are deeply grateful for USADA's hard work, expertise and leadership in working with HISA's Anti-Doping and Medication Committee to develop comprehensive draft rules in a remarkably short period of time,” said HISA Board Chair Charles Scheeler. “HISA will continue our search for an independent enforcement agency to oversee the Medication Control protocols. The Authority will also work with the FTC to ensure the Racetrack Safety Program advances on schedule. When operational, the program will provide critical enhancements to protect the health and safety of equine and human athletes.”

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In Sweden, It’s a Dog Versus Dopers

In Swedish racing, there's a new tool being used to catch drug cheats, one with four legs and a wet nose.

A 2 1/2-year-old Giant Schnauzer named Lykke (Swedish for happiness) has been put to work by the Swedish Trotting Association (ST) as part of its efforts to wipe out cheating. Lykke is able to detect the presence of illegal substances in a horse by smelling their urine.

“It is impossible to say how common doping would be in Swedish trotting, but it would be naive of me to think that doping does not exist at all,” said Mattias Falkbage, head of investigations at Swedish Trotting. “We take our anti-doping work very seriously and Lykke is our newest tool in the fight against doping.”

Lykke is not yet being used with Thoroughbreds, which is a minor sport in Sweden and far less prevalent than Standardbred racing.

Owned and trained by Fia Mardfelt, Lykke was enrolled in the Hundcampus dog training program, where dogs are taught during a one-year program to smell for such things as explosives, illegal human drugs and gas leaks. It was Mardfelt's idea to teach Lykke to look for illegal drugs in horses and she reached out to Swedish Trotting with a proposal that they enlist the dog in the fight against dopers.

“Lykke has proven to have all the qualities needed for a dog that will work with search assignments at this level,” Mardfelt said. “His personal qualities combined with an enormous analytical ability make him a fantastic tool.”

Falkbage and his team liked the idea and brought Lykke on board in the spring and began training him specifically to find drugs in horses. Lykke officially began his duties about three weeks ago. His handlers use him at the racetrack on race days and also at training centers, where Lykke is used for out-of-competition testing.

“That's what is unique, I haven't read about any other dogs that smell urine in that way,” Falkbage said. “If the dog smells a substance in the urine, it makes a mark and then we take samples, blood, urine, hair. The dog points us in the right direction so far as who we should test. What he does is not enough to get a positive in the courts. We have to take samples also. Lykke just points the way for us.”

Agneta Sandberg, an animal welfare specialist with Swedish Trotting, said Lykke is just getting started.

“Since the spring Lykke has been trained in several preparations and we will train more and more as time goes on. Lykke's capacity is large and there are almost no restrictions for his sensitive nose,” she said.

Lykke is just one tool for a sport intent on ending cheating and has already implemented many of the tools the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) said it will use in U.S. Thoroughbred racing when and if it is put in charge of policing the sport. Samples are being frozen and retested at a later date in the hope that new tests are developed to find previously undetectable substances. A tip line has been installed and whistle blowers are encouraged. Samples are being sent to international labs. Additional manpower has been brought in to ramp up the enforcement efforts and out-of-competition tests are done frequently.

“It should be taboo and shameful to try to give oneself benefits by cheating through doping. Those who try to dope, they should know that we are working against them and we will never stop working against them. They should feel that we are there. They should feel our presence,” Falkbage said.

Having Lykke on board is a big help.

“A lot of people in Sweden are talking about this,” Falkbage said. “Anyone who tries to cheat with the horse, they are probably scared now. They don't know how much this dog can find.”

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Horse Welfare And Anti-Doping Technology To Be Used At 2021 Breeders’ Cup

With the new Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) in place, racing industry leaders in the United Stares have continued to embrace sweeping reforms. One of the most recent changes will be the use of Kildare-based Equine MediRecord's (EMR) revolutionary anti-doping and horse welfare software at the Breeders' Cup World Championships at Del Mar.

The agreement is the latest notch in the belt of a company that launched its system just three years ago, but has already amassed an impressive list of clients including the Thoroughbred Owners of California, Irish Veterinary and Welfare Commission, Irish Harness Racing Association, Kentucky Thoroughbred Association and the Arabian Racing Organization. EMR first provided their system to the Breeders' Cup World Championships at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky., last year. With the event moving to California's Del Mar Racecourse and falling under the supervision of the California Horse Racing Board, EMR has developed a new system to comply with this year's rules and regulations pertaining to equine welfare and anti-doping protocols.

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EMR sells and maintains a revolutionary software platform that allows for the full veterinary history of the horse to be recorded securely, ensuring the best possible horse welfare as well as aiding with crucial anti-doping procedures. The new system EMR has developed for the Breeders' Cup World Championships will automatically inform trainers from across the world of the safety and integrity regulations that need to be followed and what documents need to be submitted through the system to allow horses to run in the Breeders' Cup at Del Mar. The Breeders' Cup has been a leader in adopting and creating stringent regulations to ensure the welfare and safety of the human and equine athletes competing at its event.

EMR already boasts a number of endorsements from key stakeholders in the U.S., including the Executive Director of the California Horse Racing Board, Scott Chaney and Dr. William Farmer, the Equine Medical Director of Churchill Downs. “The Equine MediRecord system is a major breakthrough in providing the latest and most comprehensive medical and testing records for all participants in this year's World Championships,” said Dora Delgado, Breeders' Cup Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Officer, “We are proud to partner with EMR again for this year's Breeders' Cup World Championships at Del Mar.”

Once records are entered into the system, they cannot be altered, providing integrity and transparency for all concerned. With strict requirements in place for the competition at the Breeders' Cup, such a tool is needed to ensure the integrity of the records while also allowing them to be digitally submitted to regulators like the California Horse Racing Board and Breeders' Cup officials. This procedure also eliminates passing around paperwork to various partners who are following COVID-19 protocols.

Equine MediRecord CEO, Pierce Dargan said: “It was an amazing privilege to work with the Breeders' Cup for the first time last year and we are of course extremely happy to work with them for the World Championships at Del Mar this year. Given it is in a different regulatory jurisdiction this year, California instead of Kentucky, changes had to be made to ensure it complied with the state rules. We believe our system has a role to play in the movement to help ensure that our children will be able to enjoy horse racing the way we have for generations – to be a part of that work is an honor and highly rewarding.”

The Breeders' Cup has always been a leader when it comes to adopting best welfare and anti-doping protocols. With the sport and its integrity in the spotlight, the Irish innovation is sure to be adopted by more top racing organizations that are looking to ensure thevbest possible welfare and anti-doping practices for the horses in their care.

For more information, click here.

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