Scott Stanley

The University of Kentucky has terminated the employment of former lab director Scott Scanley following what they call "a serious breach of ethics and policy violations related to misconduct and mismanagement of the institution's former Equine Analytical Chemistry Lab (EACL), which provided drug testing for the equine industry," according to a Sept. 11 press release from UK. After the initial findings from a UK Internal Audit investigation, the university announced last September that it had begun the process to revoke Scott Stanley's tenure as a faculty member, with the intention...

The European Athletics Championships of 1966 constituted the first major international sporting event where human athletes were officially drug tested. Driving this watershed moment was growing alarm that more and more athletes were turning to performance-enhancing drugs with near impunity and no small amount of personal risk. Several amphetamines were found in the system of Danish cyclist Knud Enemark Jensen after he collapsed mid-race at the 1960 Rome Olympics, fracturing his skull. He later died in hospital. Seven years after that, British cyclist Tommy Simpson collapsed and died during the...

Last week saw the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Unit (HIWU) and the University of Kentucky issue their reports into alleged misconduct and mismanagement at the university's Equine Analytical Chemistry Lab (EACL) under the leadership of former director, Scott Stanley. The allegations levelled towards Stanley and the lab's operations include misrepresentation of its ability to test for specific substances such as erythropoietin (EPO), and the "intentional misrepresentations" of positive tests as negative. Questions arising from operations at HIWU's fleet of contracted laboratories isn't confined just to the UK Lab, however. At...

A report issued by Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit (HIWU) and Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) into HIWU's investigation of the University of Kentucky Equine Analytical Chemistry Laboratory (UK-EACL) cites multiple failures on the part of the lab and the lab director, Dr. Scott Stanley, including "intentional misrepresentations" of positive tests as negative. In a press conference Tuesday, HISA CEO Lisa Lazarus said that HISA was "cooperating" with federal law enforcement, and that possible criminal charges could be leveled against Stanley for some of the alleged offences detailed in...

It has been two months since the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU) stopped sending samples to the University of Kentucky's Equine Analytical Chemistry Laboratory due to "concerns with the performance" of the facility. Prior to that, the laboratory had been one of six drug testing facilities used under The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority's (HISA) drug testing program. Since then, several key developments have unfurled amid limited public explanations. HISA and HIWU announced that they have opened an investigation into the UK Laboratory's performance, alongside the university's own investigation...

Dr. Cynthia Cole has been named the acting laboratory director of the UK Equine Analytical Chemistry Laboratory (EACL), effective March 15, 2024, according to a press release from the University of Kentucky Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment. Cole brings over 30 years of experience to the role, with a diverse background spanning academia, industry and research, according to the UK release.  Previously, Cole served as an associate clinical professor and director of The Racing Laboratory at the University of Florida from 2002-2006 and again from 2018-2023 when the...

The Racing Medication and Testing Consortium (RMTC) has suspended its accreditation of the University of Kentucky's Equine Analytical Chemistry Laboratory, according to the RMTC's executive director, Michael Hardy. This follows news last week that the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) and Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU) have opened an investigation into the UK Laboratory's performance, and that the agencies were cooperating with the university's own investigation into the matter. The university is also conducting an ongoing personnel investigation relating to former lab director Scott Stanley and that "Dr....

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) and Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU) have opened an investigation into the University of Kentucky's Equine Analytical Chemistry Laboratory's performance, according to a joint statement Tuesday by the agencies. On the 16th of last month, HIWU stopped sending samples to the UK Lab. Prior to that, the laboratory had been one of six drug testing facilities used under HISA's anti-doping and medication control (ADMC) program. Last week, Scott Stanley officially stepped down from his position as the UK Lab's director and has...