National
Summary of Official Data Reported by
US Horse Racing Authorities for 2019.
US racing commissions
sent 263,783 biological samples from horses participating in
professional horse races to the testing laboratories.
Of those tests there
were 1,461 adverse analytical findings accounting for 0.55% of all
samples. 99.45% of samples tested were clear, indicating a high
degree of compliance with anti-doping and medication rules based upon
known information and data..
Of the adverse
analytical findings, approximately 3% were clear attempts at doping
as the substance detected had no reason to be present in the horse
other than to provide a maximum enhancement of
performance. Class 2 substances considered the next most serious
level of substances that can affect performance accounted for 6.09%
of all findings. Class 1 and Class 2 substances are generally
considered “doping” and together they account for 9.03% of all 2019
detections.
As in prior years, the
overwhelming substance detections (69.75%) involved therapeutic
medications (Class 4 and 5 substances) that may affect performance to
a lesser extent, but are still not permitted to be present in a horse
when it races. With the exception of race day furosemide to
mitigate or prevent bleedings, horse racing does not permit use of
these substances with a therapeutic use exemption as defined in the
World Anti-Doping Code.
21.83% of the
detections involved Class 3 substances. These have a greater
ability to affect performance and contain substances which may be
therapeutic as well as those that might indicate a deliberate attempt
to cheat.
This information
represents the official testing results from all horse racing US
jurisdictions, except Maine which did not respond to repeated
requests for information.
Like the testing
results in human and Olympic sport, these numbers should not lessen
the resolve of the sport and its regulators to pursue substances that
the labs are unable to test for. This is an ongoing challenge
for the anti-doping programs in all professional sport and
underscores the need for intelligence based efforts in this regard as
well as intelligence based out of competition testing.
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