U.S. racing drug test results comparable to USADA and WADA testing
August 6, 2014,by Steve May, Vice President and Business Manager, Association of Racing Commissioners International
Lexington, KY — The results of anti-doping drugs tests conducted in 2013 by state racing commissions, the United States Anti-Doping Agency, and the World Anti-Doping Agency are “virtually identical” according to an analysis of all pertinent testing results.
“The numbers don’t lie,” said Racing Commissioners International President Ed Martin, noting that U.S. racing commissions sent 340,932 biological samples to a network of professional drug testing laboratories in 2013.
Some 99.65 percent of those samples were found to have no violation.
By comparison, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency performed 9,197 doping control tests in 2013. Of the samples tested, approximately 99.55 percent were determined to have no violation.
In 2013, testing authorities reporting to the World Anti-Doping Association performed 207,513 drug tests. Of that testing, 98.97 percent were found to have no adverse analytical finding.
“The anti-doping testing effort of U.S. racing regulators is 60 percent larger than the entire world wide effort of WADA. Our program is 37 times larger than the one operated by USADA,” Martin said.
“Drug testing oversight in racing is performed by government agencies not beholden to anyone but the public. We all have the same challenge and we are all combatting it the same way and our results are similar. All sports have a challenge with those who would deliberately rely on doping to affect performance. We must continue to be vigilant in detecting and developing tests for substances that emerge.”
In 2013, racing commissions cited a total of 1,140 medication rule violations. Of that number, 1.2 percent (14) were for the most egregious Class 1 doping substances; 5.9 percent (68) were for Class 2 doping substances.
he overwhelming majority of violations — 60.3 percent (687) — were for overages of Class 4 and 5 substances considered therapeutic overages and not doping. A total of 32.5 percent (371) of the violations were for Class 3 substances.
The following chart is a state by state breakdown of the results of racing commission drug testing conducted during 2013:
|
Jurisdiction
|
Drug Tests
|
Violations
|
Adverse Analytical Finding Rate (%)
|
Clear Rate (%)
|
|
Alabama
|
1,576
|
1
|
0.063
|
99.94
|
|
Arkansas (Failed to Report)
|
||||
|
Arizona
|
5,518
|
28
|
0.507
|
99.49
|
|
California*
|
26,005
|
89
|
0.342
|
99.66
|
|
Colorado
|
1,176
|
3
|
0.255
|
99.74
|
|
Delaware Harness
|
4,504
|
3
|
0.067
|
99.93
|
|
Delaware Thoroughbred
|
1,889
|
8
|
0.424
|
99.58
|
|
Florida*
|
68,317
|
251
|
0.367
|
99.63
|
|
Iowa
|
9,825
|
24
|
0.244
|
99.76
|
|
Idaho
|
363
|
5
|
1.377
|
98.62
|
|
Illinois
|
13,817
|
30
|
0.217
|
99.78
|
|
Indiana
|
8,792
|
5
|
0.057
|
99.94
|
|
Kentucky
|
7,588
|
56
|
0.738
|
99.26
|
|
Louisiana
|
12,806
|
74
|
0.578
|
99.42
|
|
Massachusetts
|
4,805
|
23
|
0.479
|
99.52
|
|
Maryland
|
8,898
|
1
|
0.011
|
99.99
|
|
Michigan
|
1,936
|
20
|
1.033
|
98.97
|
|
Minnesota
|
4,523
|
18
|
0.398
|
99.60
|
|
Montana
|
61
|
3
|
4.918
|
95.08
|
|
North Dakota
|
106
|
0
|
0.000
|
100.00
|
|
Nebraska
|
970
|
3
|
0.309
|
99.69
|
|
New Jersey
|
9,611
|
22
|
0.229
|
99.77
|
|
New Mexico
|
3,061
|
51
|
1.666
|
98.33
|
|
Nevada
|
182
|
1
|
0.549
|
99.45
|
|
New York
|
53,136
|
67
|
0.126
|
99.87
|
|
Ohio
|
14,311
|
75
|
0.524
|
99.48
|
|
Oklahoma
|
8,308
|
42
|
0.506
|
99.49
|
|
Oregon
|
1,211
|
9
|
0.743
|
99.26
|
|
Pennsylvania
|
32,678
|
52
|
0.159
|
99.84
|
|
South Dakota
|
132
|
0
|
0.000
|
100.00
|
|
Texas
|
11,010
|
68
|
0.618
|
99.38
|
|
Virginia
|
1555
|
26
|
1.672
|
98.33
|
|
Washington
|
1,179
|
8
|
0.679
|
99.32
|
|
West Virginia
|
20,923
|
73
|
0.349
|
99.65
|
|
Wyoming
|
160
|
1
|
0.625
|
99.38
|
|
All Jurisdictions
|
340,932
|
1,140
|
0.334
|
99.67
|
|
* Fiscal Year 2012-2013
|
Comparison of Testing Results
|
|
U.S. Racing |
USADA |
WADA Worldwide |
|
Number of Tests |
340,932 |
9,197 |
207,513 |
|
Adverse Analytical Findings (Violations) |
1,140 |
27 sanctioned + 8 referred + 7 pending |
2,135 |
|
Clear Rate |
99.67% |
99.55% |
98.97% |