The Eighth International Testing Integrity Program (TIP) workshop on equine drug testing will be held October 6-8 at the Maxwell H. Gluck Equine Research Center of the University of Kentucky. Over 40 research veterinarians and chemists from around the world will spend the next three days focusing on new technologies in equine drug testing. The primary mission of the TIP program is to foster research and cooperation in the areas of equine drug testing and research.

Dr. Jack Henion of Cornell University will open the workshop with a three-hour presentation of High Throughput Mass Spectral Testing. In the afternoon session, Mr. John de Kanel of Analytical Associates and Zymark Corporation will speak on High Sensitivity Mass Spectral Quantification, followed by Mr. Lyle Lovan of Beckman Coulter, Inc., with a presentation on robot-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) screening.

Another workshop session, focusing on quantitative accuracy and precision in testing will be presented by Dr. Richard Sams of Ohio State University. This is a joint project with the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) on the identification of standard dosage regimens for therapeutic medications. A related program on improving the reproducibility of “detection time” experiments will be chaired by Dr. Scott Stanley, University of California at Davis. The workshop closes on Sunday with a session chaired by Dr. Thomas Wood, of Pharmacology and Toxicology Research Laboratories, Richmond, KY, on improved detection methods for certain tranquilizers. An important goal of the workshop, and a first for the industry, is a cooperative project between TIP, the 3M Corporation, and Boehringer Ingleheim Vetmedica Incorporated, on developing regulatory methods for new equine therapeutics prior to their introduction into veterinary practice.

This Testing Integrity Program workshop has generated broad industry support. While its primary hosts are The Kentucky Racing Commission and The Kentucky Equine Drug Council, other sponsors include: The University of Kentucky; Pharmacology and Toxicology Research Laboratories of Richmond, KY; Neogen Corporation; Beckman- Coulter Inc.; Boehringer Ingleheim Vetmedica Inc.; The Keeneland Association; The National, Florida, and Kentucky Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Associations, Inc.; The Kentucky Thoroughbred Association; Saxony Farm; Analytical Associates, Inc.; The American Association of Equine Practitioners; The National Thoroughbred Racing Association; The Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, Inc.; and Zymark Corporation