by Jessica Barnes, the Indiana Horse Racing Commission

Indianapolis, IN — A Staff Report on the results of testing under Indiana’s first-in-the-nation cobalt regulation shows substantial decreases in cobalt abuse. The report was released by Commission Executive Director Joe Gorajec.

Indiana’s emergency cobalt regulation was promulgated by the Indiana Horse Racing Commission on September 4, 2014 after an emerging threat was discovered last summer. During the summer months, 354 samples from 23 days of racing were tested at the University of Kentucky Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. During this pre-regulation period, 5.9 percent of samples indicated cobalt concentrations in excess of 25 parts per billion.

The results show an 83 percent decline in cobalt concentration over the regulatory threshold of 25 parts per billion since the effective date of the regulation. The most significant finding is the virtual elimination of cobalt levels over 100 parts per billion. Overall, cobalt abuse at these very high levels dropped 96.8 percent and disappeared completely in both Standardbreds and Thoroughbreds.

The tables below compare the pre-regulation period with the regulated period.

UNREGULATED
Summer 2014
Breed-No. of Horses-No. of Samples>100 ppb-%
SB-180-5-2.8%
TB-127-3-2.4%
QH-47-3-6.4%
TOTAL-354011-3.1%

REGULATED
Sept. 30, 2014 – Nov. 15, 2014
Breed-No. of Horses-No. of Samples>100 ppb-%
SB-505-0-0%
TB-309-0-0%
QH-65-1-1.5%
TOTAL-879-1-0.1%

“I am glad to see that the commission’s proactive efforts have resulted in a cleaner racing product for our fans and horsemen,” said Joe Gorajec.

Test results during the regulated period indicate that across all breeds, the median cobalt concentration was 3.0 parts per billion and that 93 percent of all horses tested less than 10 parts per billion. The breakdown of these metrics by breed and the results of every test can be found in the full report at www.in.gov/hrc.

The Indiana Horse Racing Commission would like to thank the University of Kentucky Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory and LGC Science, Inc. for their efforts — without which this program would not be possible.

For more information contact Joe Gorajec at jgorajec@hrc.in.gov.