Drug Tests Help Protect Integrity of California Horse Racing

The staff at UC Davis’ drug testing lab runs approximately 70,000 samples a year looking for evidence of performance-enhancing and other prohibited drugs.
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With big names like California Chrome, Bayern, and Shared Belief taking the field for the Breeder’s Cup Classic, taking place at California's Santa Anita Park on Nov. 1, it’s a safe bet that drug testing in American horse racing will be an ongoing topic.

Earlier this month, a Jockey Club-commissioned report highlighted the disparity in quality and consistency across the nation’s state-by-state regulatory system, causing some people in the industry to call the current system unacceptable.

That report also served as a reminder that California, in contrast, provides robust, quality drug testing for horse racing, thanks to collaboration between the Kenneth L. Maddy Equine Analytical Chemistry Laboratory at University of California, Davis (UC Davis), and the California Horse Racing Board.

The Maddy Lab serves as the primary equine drug-testing laboratory for California’s five permanent race courses and seven seasonal fair venues. This testing is conducted to ensure that performance-altering drugs are not administered and that permitted, therapeutic medications are given properly

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