by Tom LaMarra, USTA Web Newsroom Senior Correspondent

Tampa, FL — The Association of Racing Commissioners International Model Rules Committee in July will consider a testing threshold of 50 parts per billion for the mineral cobalt, which occurs naturally in racehorses.

The RCI Drug Testing Standards and Practices Committee approved the threshold April 23 during a meeting in Tampa, Fla. If certified as a model rule, a test result of 50 parts per billion of cobalt in plasma would be treated as a Class B penalty.

Sanctions would include a 15-day suspension, a $500 fine, and disqualification of the horse from purse money. The full RCI board of directors later in the day approved the recommendation.

It was noted during the committee meeting there is no documentation yet to prove cobalt has blood-doping qualities or can enhance performance. However, research has shown it does impact equine health when administered in larger doses.

“We are focusing on the health and welfare of the horse,” said committee chair Duncan Patterson, who also chairs the Delaware Thoroughbred Racing Commission. “We’re not here to (debate whether there are) performance-enhancing aspects of cobalt.”

The committee took recommendations from the RCI Scientific Advisory Committee and the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium. Both agreed on 50 parts per billion as the trigger point but differed on how to handle horses that test between 25 parts per billion and 50 parts per billion.

The committee opted to allow each jurisdiction to decide how to handle those cases. The full board, however, later opted for what the RMTC had recommended: those horses would be placed on the veterinarian’s list until they test under 25 parts per billion, and trainers would receive a warning.

Though officials acknowledged they don’t have evidence cobalt is similar to blood-doping, the committee said a reading of 300 or more parts per billion could bring a 10-year ban from racing. They also said that number could change as more information becomes available into the affects of cobalt on racehorses.

Again, the full board decided to defer action on the most severe penalty. RCI president Ed Martin said that would be part of a broader rule under consideration that would target any type of “excessive administration” of a substance.