Victoria Launches Cobalt Lab

Victorian Minister for Racing Martin Pakula has announced that the labor government will invest A$200,000 to transform Racing Analytical Services Ltd (RASL)’s Flemington laboratory into the first dedicated cobalt-testing facility in Australian racing. RASL and the Victorian Racing Industry will also each contribute A$75,000 to the project, which has a total cost of A$350,000. The laboratory will be modified to accommodate the specialist equipment to test both blood and urine samples for cobalt and other metals in horses and greyhounds, thus speeding up the testing process and reducing the risk of cross-contamination. Previously, samples had to be sent to Perth, Sydney or Hong Kong for analysis. 

In April 2014, Racing Victoria introduced a threshold for cobalt of 200 micrograms per liter of urine, which was extended to the national scale from Jan. 1 this year. Earlier this year, four Victorian trainers including Peter Moody and Danny O’Brien were revealed to be under investigation after horses in their care returned tests with cobalt levels exceeding the prescribed threshold.