EDRC Recommends Gene-Doping, Motion-Analysis Funding

Members of the Kentucky Equine Drug Research Council unanimously approved funding to two horse research projects—one to monitor gene doping and another to identify at-risk horses through motion analysis—during its meeting Oct. 21. 

EDRC members enthusiastically backed both projects, though concern was raised with regard to approximately $150,000 in costs for new instruments related to Dr. Scott Stanley and Dr. Cecily Wood's project "Tackling Emerging Threats to the Kentucky Racing Industry by Development of an Equine Gene Doping Program." That equipment would be retained by the University of Kentucky's Gluck Equine Research Center, one member noted.

Stanley said that leasing equipment does not save a considerable amount of money, as leases often require multi-year commitments.

Stanley was further agreeable to benchmarks for the continued support of the project.

The EDRC also advanced funding to the project, "Identifying Racehorses in Danger of Catastrophic Injury through Analysis of Motion Sensor Data Collected During Training and Racing," by Dr. Warwick Bayly and Dr. David Lambert.

Bayly and Lambert said they supported a non-disclosure agreement related to their findings related to specific horses, aside from sharing information with others involved in the study, such as veterinarians. An NDA, they said, is in keeping with their existing views that to safeguard these findings they should be treated much like a veterinary or medical record.

The EDRC's recommendation now goes before the full Kentucky Horse Racing Commission for backing at the end of the month before potential approval by legislators early next year.