California Develops Equine Biomarker Program
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Photo: Anne M. Eberhardt
California is upgrading its drug-testing capabilities
The California Horse Racing Board in the near future will begin using biological markers designed to identify the effects of substances administered to racehorses.
The program is part of an effort to upgrade drug testing, including out-of-competition testing, CHRB officials said in an Aug. 18 release.
The Kenneth L. Maddy Equine Analytical Chemistry Laboratory at the University of California-Davis handles the drug testing of racehorses in the state. The lab, which also performs related research, has begun developing what it calls the "athlete biological passport."
Like other racing jurisdictions, California relies heavily on the collection and testing of blood and urine samples, primarily post-race. The CHRB said the "fundamental principle of the ABP is to monitor selected biological variables over time that indirectly reveal the effects of doping rather than attempting to detect the doping substance or method itself."
Chemists will be able to create biological profiles of racehorses and track any changes in proteins, genes, and small molecules. "Monitoring of these biomarkers could signal that a doping agent had been administered to the athlete," the CHRB said.
Dr. Benjamin Moeller, who specializes in biomarkers, will develop the infrastructure for the equine ABP program. He was recently appointed by the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory System and the UC-Davis School of Veterinary Medicine to combat emerging threats in horse racing,such as anabolic steroids and gene-doping.
The CHRB said The Jockey Club Aug. 18 committed grants of $50,000 a year for at least two years to facilitate the project.
"We owe it to the public as well as the vast majority of trainers and veterinarians who play by the rules to keep our testing vigilant and state-of-the-art," CHRB executive director Rick Baedeker said. "So, we have doubled the number of out-of-competition tests at Del Mar this season and we are working with UC-Davis to pursue the latest technologies for testing."