HISA's Anti-Doping Medication Control Ready for Belmont

While behind the scenes for fans, this year's Belmont Stakes (G1) will see some changes in protocols and testing before and after the race as the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority oversees a classic for the first time.

With HISA's Anti-Doping and Medication Control program having relaunched May 22, the program will be in place for the 1 1/2-mile Belmont Stakes June 10 at Belmont Park. State regulators oversaw these issues for the Kentucky Derby (G1) May 6 at Churchill Downs and Preakness Stakes (G1) May 20 at Pimlico Race Course.

With many in the sport hoping that improvement in these areas can lift racing's integrity and improve safety for participants, HISA CEO Lisa Lazarus promised June 8 at Belmont that the new national approach to oversight in these areas will deliver for racing.

"This Belmont Stakes will be the first Triple Crown race ever run under HISA's new anti-doping program," Lazarus said. "I know that some of you might not be convinced that it's going to be a big game-changer, but I can tell you that it is."

The ADMC program is operated by the Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit, led by executive director Ben Mosier. Mosier outlined the program that allows the HIWU to collect out-of-competition samples from covered horses in locations throughout the country to ensure banned substances are not being used ahead of racing. Both pre-race and post-race tests, which had already surpassed 3,500 since the ADMC's launch in late May, are using a paperless documentation system.

Mosier also outlined a whistleblower program that he said has been well received as the HIWU looks to build a testing program that targets horses and trainers of concern based on its investigations. 

"We have several anonymous whistleblower platforms that have been up and running since May 22, with a lot of incoming information," Mosier said. "I think it's a new avenue for people to have a voice. It could be information on specific trainers, specific horses, or just that they're noticing things."

As a national organization, HISA provides some buffer from the local racing circuit; perhaps making people who have information more willing to share it. Under the state-to-state regulatory system, potential whistleblowers may have feared some type of retribution for calling attention to problems or wrongdoing.

"I'm a really strong believer in that as a general premise," Lazarus said. "I think that having a national governing body that is fully removed from the sport and not involved in the day-in and day-out racing; that really provides the professionalism, the objectivity. I do think that is going to encourage people to come forward if it's a trust issue."

A big change for this year's Belmont Stakes runners will be where collected post-race samples will be tested. Last year under the New York State Gaming Commission, samples were sent to New York's Equine Drug Testing and Research Laboratory. Because that lab is not one of the six labs approved for use by the HIWU, collected samples this year will go to the lab at the Kenneth L. Maddy Equine Analytical Chemistry Laboratory at the University of California-Davis.

The Racing Medication and Testing Consortium had accredited nine labs for use under the state-to-state system. Those labs were grandfathered into the HIWU program, but after further review the HIWU has moved forward with just six of those labs. The New York Equine Drug Testing and Research Laboratory was one of three RMTC-accredited labs not selected. 

"The remaining three that aren't part of our program, (University of Florida Racing Laboratory), New York, and Texas A&M (Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory), we still spoke to all of them through contract negotiations," Mosier said. "Whether it's pricing, performance specifications, or technology, they just did not meet in agreement."

Joining UC-Davis, the other five labs accredited by HIWU are the University of Kentucky Equine Analytical Chemistry Laboratory, the Analytical Toxicology Laboratory at the Ohio Department of Agriculture, the Animal Forensic Toxicology Laboratory at the University of Illinois-Chicago, the Pennsylvania Equine Toxicology and Research Laboratory at the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, and Industrial Laboratories in Colorado. All six meet the same performance standards, which will bring consistency in testing to the sport.

Should a positive be called, more changes will be in place that aim to expedite any regulatory action to follow. For instance, if a horseman requests a split sample from a positive finding, the HIWU requires a turnaround within 15 business days. Also, the HIWU will select the lab to conduct the split sample test—not the horseman.

Belmont Stakes Day will be the first big-race day to see HISA and HIWU in action. While Lazarus and Mosier are looking forward to that milestone, both noted that it's also exciting that the sport is receiving this new approach in oversight on an everyday basis throughout the country, with the exception of a few jurisdictions that have ceased simulcasting their signals—the stick HISA carries to bring in jurisdictions—or are operating under state overview following a court injunction in ongoing litigation.

"I've worked in the anti-doping space for 13 years. I can tell you that uniformity, efficiency, and intelligence-based strategy are definitely the cornerstones of what we're trying to do here in this program," Mosier said. "We're just getting started, but we're very excited. To help level the playing field, hold bad actors accountable, and most importantly, protect the athletes who cannot advocate for themselves.

"The protocols that I described are not just happening here at Belmont, but they are happening uniformly at all tracks every weekend, every day."