Press Release:

International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA) Chairman Louis Romanet announced Aug. 9 that, following the approval of the IFHA’s Executive Council, five analytical laboratories have each been appointed as “IFHA Reference Laboratories.”

The reference laboratories include:

  • Australia—Racing Analytical Services Limited;
  • France—Laboratoire Des Courses Hippiques;
  • Great Britain—LGC Group, Sport & Specialised Analytical Services;
  • Hong Kong—Hong Kong Jockey Club Racing Laboratory; and
  • United States—Kenneth L. Maddy Equine Analytical Chemistry Laboratory at the University of California, Davis.

As part of the application process, the five labs successfully satisfied criteria including, but not limited to, the scale of operations, resourcing, research activity, and capability to detect the use of prohibited substances, including the major doping agents.

”The integrity of horseracing is the chief matter for all racing authorities all over the world, and clearly of most significance to the IFHA,” Romanet said, “The primary funding mechanism for our sport is betting, further growth and development can only take place if punters and spectators perceive racing as being totally clean. In addition, the commercial decisions made by breeders, owners, trainers, and other stakeholders are completely reliant on the results of fair competition. Racing bodies everywhere should be aiming for the strictest doping controls which include bringing our analytical laboratories to their highest standards possible, and implementing them for the most important horse races around the globe.

“I congratulate the five laboratories who have met a harmonized standard of assessment under the IFHA Laboratory Reference Appointment application,” he continued. “The process is now open to any analytical laboratory that wishes to apply and I look forward to seeing racing bodies around the world utilizing these labs to safeguard the integrity of the most critical races worldwide.”

The white manual and annexes which detail the assessment process for labs to apply as IFHA Reference Laboratories can now be found at ifhaonline.org.

Meanwhile, two related committees have been formed. A Reference Laboratory Appointment Committee (RLAC) will decide on the appointment, suspension, and revocation of appointment as an IFHA Reference Laboratory for applicants and those wishing to keep their appointment status. The Reference Laboratory Technical Committee (RLTC) will train assessors appointed by the RLAC and act as a source of counsel to assessors and the RLAC on individual assessments, as well as to provide advice on revisions to the application process. Committee members include:

Reference Laboratory Appointment Committee:

  • Andrew Harding (RLAC chair, IFHA executive director, Hong Kong Jockey Club executive director, racing authority);
  • Matt Iuliano (executive vice-president and executive director of The Jockey Club);
  • Yves Bonnaire, PhD (RLTC Chair, vice-chairman of the IFHA Advisory Council on Equine Prohibited Substances and Practices);
  • Ed Houghton, PhD (chairman of the IFHA Advisory Council on Equine Prohibited Substances and Practices);
  • One Association of Official Racing Chemists nominee (to be confirmed);
  • One World Anti-Doping Agency nominee (to be confirmed); and
  • RLAC Secretary: Asian Racing Federation (to be confirmed).

Reference Laboratory Technical Committee:

  • Yves Bonnaire, PhD (RLTC Chair, vice-chairman of the IFHA Advisory Council on Equine Prohibited Substances and Practices);
  • Terry Wan, PhD, EurChem, CChem, FRSC, FAORC (Hong Kong Jockey Club Racing Laboratory);
  • Ludovic Bailly, PhD (Laboratoire Des Courses Hippiques); •David Batty (Racing Analytical Services Limited);
  • Clive Pearce, PhD (LGC Group, Sport & Specialised Analytical Services);
  • Scott Stanley, PhD (Kenneth L. Maddy Equine Analytical Chemistry Laboratory, University of California, Davis); and
  • Permanent RLTC Secretary: Emmie Ho, PhD (Hong Kong Jockey Club Racing Laboratory).