by Jessica Barnes, for the Indiana Horse Racing Commission

Indianapolis, IN — The Indiana Horse Racing Commission has contracted with Industrial Laboratories, Inc., of Denver, Colo., on an emergency basis to assist with its equine drug testing program.

Industrial Laboratories will be testing Indiana samples beginning in late August and lasting a minimum of five weeks. Indiana is currently racing at Indiana Grand Race Course (Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse) and Hoosier Park (Standardbred).

The emergency contract is necessitated by a backlog of screening and confirmatory testing pending at the Commission’s primary laboratory — LGC Science, Inc., in Lexington, Ky.

During this five-week day period, LGC will focus on Indiana’s backlog of confirmatory testing. LGC will continue to perform out of competition testing for Indiana, as well as Indiana’s Standardbred Fair Racing Program.

Commission staff will reevaluate the status of their testing program during the next 30 days in order to apportion its testing needs for the remainder of the 2014 race meets.

Industrial Laboratories, Inc. is accredited by the International Organization for Standardization and the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium, Inc. All of Industrial Laboratories’ tests on paired samples will meet or exceed current Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association guidelines.