The
2018 Anti-Doping and Drug Testing Program conducted by US racing regulatory
bodies
found
continued substantial compliance with racing’s medication and anti-doping rules
and
little
support for claims that the use of drugs to mask pain when horses race is
rampant.
As
it does each year the Association of Racing Commissioners International (ARCI)
released a
summary
of the collective results of the individual state programs conducted in 2018.
In
2018 horses competing in 95,618 individual races were tested, 43,574 flat races
(quarter
horse
and thoroughbred combined) and 52,044 standardbred races. This represents a
reduction
from the previous year when horses from 98,883 races were tested.
On
average 3.2 horses were tested in each flat race and 2.26 horses tested in each
standardbred
contest.
In
2018, there were 1,561 violations of the medication rules out of 258,920
samples tested,
meaning
that 99.4% of all tests found the horse to be compliant with the rules. It also
means
that
the facts do not support claims that a substantial number of horses are racing
under the
influence
of pain masking medications as all testing labs routinely screen for the
presence of
such
drugs. Such instances do occasionally occur and are reflected in the violations
that are
found
and prosecuted.
The
ARCI has described violations involving Class 1 or Class 2 substances as
instances of
“doping”.
Violations involving substances of a lesser class often involve overages of
medications
deemed therapeutic or authorized by US federal law for veterinary use.
There
was a dramatic drop in doping instances from 2017 to 2018. In 2017, 11% of all
violations
found were for Class 1 or 2 substances. In 2018, that number dropped to 6.8% of
all
violations. In 2018, there were 107 findings out of 258,920 samples tested for
these
substances
deemed to have the greatest effect on performance, or 0.04% of all samples
tested.
In 2017, there were 169 findings out of 293,704 samples, or 0.06% of those
tested.
Violations
involving Class 3 substances were 26.2% of all adverse analytical findings in
2018, a
slight
increase over the 24.5% detected in 2017. There were 409 Class 3 AAF’s in 2018
-
0.16%
of all tested - compared to 376 in 2017 - 0.13% tested.
Violations
involving substances deemed least likely to affect performance - Class 4 and 5
substances
- accounted for 66.9% of the adverse analytical findings in 2018, slightly up
from
the
64.5% of AAF’s in 2017.
Clear Rate
In
2018, 99.4% of all samples tested were determined to be clear of any substance
that would
trigger
an adverse analytical finding (AAF). In 2017, the clear rate for all US horse
racing was
99.5%.
For
Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse races, the clear rate in 2018 was 99.13% and the
rate for
Standardbred
races that year was 99.71%.
By
comparison, the 2017 Annual Report of the US Anti Doping Agency indicates that
their clear
rate
for human sport was 99.12% for Olympic, Paralympic and Global Service Testing.
The
2019
World Anti-Doping Agency’s Testing Report shows that their “clear rate” is
98.57%.
“Horse
racing and human sport share the same challenges in combatting those who cheat.
While
the overall clear rate is comparable, I do not believe anyone is under the
illusion in either
human
sport or horse racing that we are catching everyone who will attempt to cheat,”
said Ed
Martin,
President of the Association of Racing Commissioners International.
“Industry
investments in anti-doping research and a greater emphasis on expanded
investigatory
staff at the regulatory agencies and racetracks is essential if we are to
effectively
combat this threat,”
he said.
