Mary Scollay

When Dr. Barbara Hippie drove through the backstretch gates at Mahoning Valley Race Course last September, she knew she had some substances and medications on her truck that were banned by the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU). But she said she thought she had no reason to worry. She said she knew the banned medications were not to be used with any covered Thoroughbred racing or training at an Ohio racetrack. Hippie, part of a three-person practice based in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, has a vast practice and treats many...

The second Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) virtual town hall was conducted Wednesday, giving industry stakeholders the chance to field unanswered questions about the federal anti-doping and medication control (ADMC) program that has been in effect since May. Among the points raised at the meeting: A panel of lawyers has been established to provide pro-bono representation to cash-strapped stakeholders facing possible sanctions. Approximately 42,000 horses have been tested since the launch of the ADMC program nearly six months ago. There have been 11 positive tests for substances of human...

With the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Integrity Act's (HISA) anti-doping and medication control program set for launch Monday--pending approval by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)--the inevitable focus will be on the spider web of post-race and out-of-competition testing set to blanket most of the nation. But with it has come this other question: What do buyers now need to be aware of when purchasing a horse at the sales or privately? The question has gained added currency since a recent presentation before the Southern California horsemen by representatives from the...

Despite all the legal jockeying these past few weeks and months, the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act's (HISA) anti-doping and medication control program still appears set for launch on Jan. 1 in the vast majority of states that conduct pari-mutuel wagering. This means on the first day of 2023, thousands of trainers, veterinarians and other backstretch workers must grapple with a new set of rules guiding how and when to administer a set of everyday medications--the list of which can be found here--to avoid falling foul of a post-race and...

Since Sunday morning, horse racing has largely been a one-issue sport. That morning, of course, trainer Bob Baffert announced that GI Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit (Protonico) had tested positive for 21 picograms per milliliter of betamethasone in a post-race sample. Betamethasone is a regulated corticosteroid commonly used in horse racing as an intra-articular joint injection. In Kentucky as of last year, a detection of betamethasone at any level is deemed a violation. The previous threshold was 10 picograms per milliliter. A split sample will now go for confirmation testing....

The Cannabidiol (CBD) market is growing faster than a garden weed, and as the vast roots of this multi-billion dollar industry reach further into everyday life, it's hardly surprising that the racing industry has had to take accommodating actions. This can be evinced in a California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) notification sent to trainers Friday, warning that use of these CBD products can lead to a positive "for CBD and/or CBD metabolites in blood and urine," and that, because CBD is currently unclassified in California, a positive would by default...

The American Association of Equine Practitioners has presented Scott Palmer, VMD, its 2020 Sage Kester "Beyond the Call" Award. The award is named in honor of its first recipient, the late Wayne O. "Sage" Kester, DVM, and recognizes a current or former AAEP member who has made significant and long-lasting contributions to equine veterinary medicine and the community. A past president of the AAEP, Palmer worked in clinical practice as a staff surgeon and hospital director of the New Jersey Equine Clinic for 38 years. He was appointed equine medical...

(This is the second in a series we are doing on environmental contamination. Click here for part one.) Like a Matryoshka doll of conjecture and supposition, the very real threat of environmental contamination in the horse racing industry's testing protocols can play out like a game that becomes ever more intricate with each layer unpeeled. In part one of this series, we looked at a growing understanding of the array of possible contaminants in the backstretch environment coupled with ever more sensitive testing methodologies. But go deeper, and what emerges...

Over the past year or so, a series of high-profile positives attributed to environmental contamination have dogged racing's highest-profile trainer, Bob Baffert. Last week, the California Horse Racing Board's Board (CHRB) conducted a hearing into the Dextrorphan positive incurred by the Baffert-trained Merneith (American Pharoah) in July. Connections had attributed the positive to cross-contamination stemming from Merneith's groom, who took DayQuil and NyQuil, both of which contain Dextrorphan. Before that were the positives from Arkansas in May, when the Grade I-winning Gamine (Into Mischief) and Charlatan (Speightstown) subsequently tested positive...

The Jockey Club today has elected five new members: Gatewood Bell, Fred W. Hertrich III, James McIngvale, Dr. Mary Scollay, and John Sikura. As a bloodstock agent, Gatewood Bell, president of Cromwell Bloodstock Agency, selected horses including Mastery and Undrafted. In addition to his work in bloodstock, Bell is a memberof the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission and a United States representative for Goffs sales agency. He previously worked for Kiaran McLaughlin and Nicoma Bloodstock and served as a jockey's agent for Fernando Jara. Fred W. Hertrich III is chairman of...

In the fifth and final installment of a series of Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation webinars that took the place of the canceled ninth annual Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit, Drs. Tim Parkin and Mary Scollay examined Tuesday The Jockey Club's Equine Injury Database (EID) and its findings since being launched in 2009. "The genesis of the EID goes back to Barbaro," explained Scollay, the executive director of the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium. "When he was injured in the Preakness, a lot of attention and phone calls were...