Stonestreet to Offer Blood Test Records on Sale Horses

In an effort to increase buyer confidence, Stonestreet Farm announced July 29 it had developed an innovative blood sampling, testing, and secure storage protocol in partnership with The University of Kentucky's Gluck Equine Research Center.

The program was developed in response to reports of off-label bisphosphonate use in young, growing horses. Combined with newly available post-sale testing offered by auction houses, buyers of a Stonestreet-bred and -raised yearling will have an opportunity to review a blood-health window of at least six months prior to their purchase.

"It was a simple next step for us to take that will allow buyers to act with complete confidence," Stonestreet said in a release. "Stonestreet has never used any product prohibited by the conditions of sale, and we have never used any brand of bisphosphonate."

Stonestreet owner Barbara Banke emphasized the farm's approach.

"We believe nature is the best way to build strong muscle and good bones," Banke said.

During 2019, blood samples were drawn from each Stonestreet yearling on a regular schedule developed by Gluck using current bisphosphonate detection periods. These were drawn by a third-party veterinarian with experience handling samples within a regulatory environment who was hired by the Gluck Equine Research Center. Sample collection was supervised by Dr. Scott Stanley, professor of analytical chemistry at the Gluck Equine Research Center, who ensured a strict chain-of-custody and authored documentation connecting each sample to the yearling from which it was taken.

Samples were stored and frozen in accordance with the normal regulatory laboratory standards established for pre- and post-race blood samples in a dedicated freezer. The samples were tested for bisphosphonates and growth promotants. The purchaser of any Stonestreet-bred and -raised yearling may request a report stating the test results for the individual that they purchased.

At their expense, a buyer may also request testing for anabolic steroids and/or bisphosphonates on the blood samples that remain in secure storage at the Gluck Equine Research Center. Purchasers may request testing for up to seven days following the fall of the hammer by completing a Request to Test form. Following completion of the secure storage period the blood samples will be donated to Gluck and used in research projects.

"Transparency is so important. It breeds confidence in buyers," Banke noted in a release.

The farm added that, "blood sampling, testing, and secure storage protocol is just one more way we offer Stonestreet client's complete confidence and total transparency. We invite every farm to join us. Because breeding and raising the healthiest and strongest racehorses in the world is not only good for our business, it's good for the sport."

Note: For questions about the project, or if you have purchased a Stonestreet yearling in 2019 and wish to receive a copy of the report, please contact us at info@stonestreetfarms.com. For a video on the program, click here.