By Daniel Ross
With a view to pulling the veil back on the hows and whys of their operations, a representative of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) Authority or the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU) will every week answer a question of industry importance posed by the TDN.
If you have any questions you'd like to ask HISA or HIWU, please feel free to send them over to us at the following email address: danross@thetdn.com
The following question was submitted by trainer Ron Moquett.
Q: There are technologies available that can provide rapid drug test results (including from urine) on-the-spot, rather than having to ship the sample back to a laboratory for testing. These rapid tests aren't as sophisticated as those conducted back in a lab, but they still provide a fairly accurate guide as to what commonly found drugs might be in a horse's system. As such, they could be extremely helpful for trainers in the days leading up to a race. How focused is HIWU right now on deploying such rapid testing technologies?
Response by Michael Hardy, acting chief of science.
HIWU is aware of the instant testing kits that exist for humans and are often used as part of pre-employment drug screenings. However, HIWU is not aware of any kind of validated instant testing kits with the specificity and sensitivity consistent with horse racing's scope of testing. Human instant testing kits are limited in their screening capabilities, meaning that they are mainly meant to screen for human substances of abuse, not other substances or medications that may be commonly administered to racehorses.
Additionally, these kits screen at much higher levels than the levels that our laboratories screen at for testing, so they would not be helpful or reliable for horsemen. Plus, even if one of these kits screened positive for a possible Prohibited Substance, a sample would still need to be sent to a laboratory to confirm the presence of the substance.
What HIWU can and does offer to horsemen is Clearance Testing. This testing is used to screen for specific Controlled Medications that have been intentionally and legally administered to a horse. When a trainer requests Clearance Testing through HIWU, they must declare the specific medication(s) that they want the laboratory to screen for as part of the test. A negative Clearance Test can give horsemen confidence that their horse will pass Post-Race or Vets' List testing in relation to the named Controlled Medications targeted as part of the Clearance Test.
Clearance Testing costs $200 per horse and includes the collection of blood and urine samples. Negative results are required to be reported to HIWU within five business days (weekends and holidays excluded) of the laboratory's receipt of the sample, so horsemen should plan accordingly when scheduling.
HIWU's Science team is always happy to help horsemen and veterinarians through sciencesupport@hiwu.org if they have questions about Controlled Medications.
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