KEDRC Agrees On Cobalt Thresholds

by Lucas Marquardt 
The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission’s Equine Drug Research Council (KEDRC) yesterday approved threshold levels for cobalt and sent the measure on to the KHRC board for full consideration. The KHRC is expected to meet some time in June or early July. If the measure is adopted and clears all subsequent legislative hurdles, the new thresholds are expected to take effect in late fall 2015 or early 2016. 

The KEDRC agreed on a two-tiered approach: cobalt levels in the bloodstream ranging from 25 to 50 parts per billion would be subject to sanctions on par with certain Phenylbutazone (Bute) overages, while cobalt levels in excess of 50 ppb would be treated as a Class B violation. Currently, penalties for first-time Class B violations include trainer suspension of 30 to 60 days and a $500 to $1,000 fine, as well as disqualification and purse forfeiture. Penalties for the lower-level offense would be the same as Bute overages between 2 and 5 micrograms per ml in serum: a written warning up to a $500 fine, with no disqualification or purse forfeiture. In both cases, horses would be placed on the vet’s list and be restricted from competing until cobalt levels dropped below the 25 ppb threshold. 

Citing concerns that legal supplements could trigger a low-level positive, two members of the council voted against the measure: Dr. Andrew M. Roberts, a veterinarian who primarily works with Standardbreds; and trainer Rick Hiles, president of the Kentucky HBPA. Both stated they believed egregious violators should be dealt with severely, however. 
Cobalt has made international headlines over the past year. The naturally occurring mineral is suspected to have performance-enhancing effects on race horses, though researchers are unsure why. The general line of reasoning was that cobalt aids in erythropoiesis–the production of oxygen-carrying red blood cells–which in turn boosted a horse’s endurance. However, researchers now believe that, if cobalt does act as a performance enhancer, it isn’t for this reason. 
“We’ve pretty much ruled it out as a blood-doping agent, because the horses did not increase their production of erythropoiesis in response to cobalt,” Dr. Mary Scollay, the KHRCs equine medical director, explained yesterday. “That’s the mechanism of action in humans, but it’s not the case in the horse.” 

Yesterday’s meeting included results from a study conducted by the KEDRC during Keeneland’s spring meet. The study tested post-race samples for cobalt concentrations. The samples were taken as part of the KHRC’s normal drug protocols—samples from two horses from each race, with four samples taken from stakes races. Scollay said the study included more than 20% of the horses who competed at Keeneland. Interestingly, none of the samples would have triggered a positive, said Scollay. The calculated mean range fell between 2 and 3 ppb, while the highest level came in at just over 14 ppb. 

Targeted testing of certain Standardbreds racing at The Red Mile last fall, by contrast, turned up several abnormally high positives, some in the 800-1,200 ppb range. Since no thresholds were in place at the time, no disciplinary action was taken, but Scollay noted that positives through the short meet dropped precipitously when horsemen were told that the KHRC was testing for cobalt. 

The council discussed certain supplements, including a popular injectable supplement in Canadian Standardbred circles called Hemo 15, that could possibly push a horse past the 25 ppb limit. Scollay said that it was her opinion that cobalt overages would be hard to achieve with oral supplements and that it is much more commonly seen when injectable supplements are used. 

The council went on to unanimously approve a measure calling for mandatory post-race testing for all claimed horses. Hiles was among those who worried that the new owners of a claimed horse could be subject to a cobalt overage when the horse was raced back. Cobalt has a half-life of about a week, so if a horse had a cobalt level of 1000 ppb at the time he was claimed–but not tested–he would test at 250 ppb if raced back two weeks later by his new connections. The measure, and funding for it, will require final approval by the KHRC.