Missouri Company Hired To Police Drugs In US Horse Racing
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP/WJZ) — A deal for Drug Free Sport International to police medication in horse racing was announced Tuesday, two months before the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority takes effect.
The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency had been set to become the regulator for anti-doping and medication control for thoroughbred racing. But in late December, the deal stalled.
Drug Free Sport International has overseen testing and enforcement with the NFL, NBA, MLB, NCAA, both men's and women's pro golf tours and NASCAR.
The Kansas City-based company will set up the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit, to be led by a five-member advisory council chaired by Jonathan Taylor, a London-based partner at the international law firm Bird & Bird.
He previously served as chair of the World Anti-Doping Agency's compliance review committee. He also has years of experience as outside legal counsel to the British Horseracing Authority and International Equestrian Federation.
The other members of the advisory council are Dr. Larry Bowers, former chief scientific officer at USADA; Dr. Larry Bramlage, an equine orthopedic surgeon in Kentucky; Sonja Keating, general counsel of the U.S. Equestrian Federation; and Günter Younger, director of intelligence and investigations at WADA.
HISA takes effect July 1. It will be implemented in stages, with the racetrack safety program starting immediately. The anti-doping and medication rules aren't expected to begin until Jan. 1, 2023, leaving the 38 states where horse racing occurs in charge for now.
The sport's lack of uniform rules across the U.S. came into focus after Medina Spirit tested positive for a steroid, betamethasone, that is legal in Kentucky but banned on race day, following the 2021 Kentucky Derby.
Prior to the 2021 Preakness Stakes, Medina Spirit's trainer, Bob Baffert, and the Maryland Jockey Club agreed to blood sample testing of the horse. Medina Spirit passed all three of his drug tests before running in the second jewel of horse racing's Triple Crown, Maryland racing officials said. The samples were taken on May 6, May 10 and May 11.
Medina Spirit was passed by the eventual winner, 11-1 Rombauer, and finished in third.
Medina Spirit collapsed and died on Dec. 6 of a heart attack following a training run. Last February, the horse was stripped of the victory in the Derby.
Like governing bodies in Kentucky, California and New York, the Maryland Racing Commission suspended Baffert, barring him from running horses in the 147th Preakness Stakes.
