The board of directors of Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation has approved a record total of $957,260 for equine research projects in 2006. in a meeting in Palm Beach, Fla., on Feb. 27, the board approved launch of 12 new projects, continuation of eight projects entering their second year, and two special projects–the first Storm Cat Career Development Award (www.TheHorse.com/emag.aspx?id=6778) and a project on exercise induced pulmonary hemorrhage (EIPH) being jointly funded with the American Association of Equine Practitioners and the Racetrack Medication and Testing Consortium.

The funding total for 2006 exceeds the final 2005 amount of $895,948, and it is the highest amount allocated at the beginning of any grant cycle in the Foundation’s history. (This total refers only to traditional research projects funded by Grayson-Jockey Club. In years when the Foundation was affiliated with the old NTRA Drug Testing Task Force, annual aggregate for traditional research and drug testing research on occasion exceeded $1 million.)

Since 1983, the Foundation has provided more than $13 million to fund 210 projects at more than 30 universities in North America and overseas.

The EIPH project is being conducted by Howard H. Erickson, DVM, PhD, David C. Poole, PhD, DSc, and Tammi S. Epp, DVM, MS, CVA (PhD candidate) of Kansas State University. They are examining the efficacy of aminocaproic acid and conjugated estrogens as treatments to prevent EIPH. Each of the three funding agencies committed $25,000 to the project