A “zero tolerance” policy in Indiana led to seven horses testing positive for cocaine during the waning weeks of Hoosier Park’s recently concluded Thoroughbred meet. According to Indiana Horse Racing Commission executive director Joe Gorajec, the traces in each positive were very low, and would have fallen under the acceptable thresholds of other racing jurisdictions.

“Indiana is a zero tolerance state when it comes to cocaine in a horse’s system,” Gorajec said. “Should a horse tests positive for cocaine, the purse is forfeited and the trainer is assessed a $500 fine.”

In most of the positive tests, the presence of benzoylecgonine, a byproduct of cocaine, measured between five and 25 nanograms per milliliter of blood or urine. Gorajec explained that, unlike Indiana, other states have established thresholds for the amount of benzoylecgonine in a horse’s body. He noted that the regulatory agencies in states including Illinois and Louisiana call for limits of anywhere between 100 and 150 nanograms.

“Many states would not even call them a positive,” Gorajec said of the recent rash of failed tests. “All of them are low levels