Maryland commission approves two-tier cobalt threshold

The Maryland Racing Commission on Tuesday approved threshold levels for cobalt, the naturally occurring mineral that has allegedly been abused worldwide in horse racing, according to the commission’s executive director.

The commission adopted a two-tier threshold recommended by the Association of Racing Commissioners International following work by the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium, an industry-funded group that researches medication policies. Under the rule, any horse testing above 50 parts per billion in the blood will be disqualified, and the trainer will be assessed a penalty for a Class B offense, which requires a suspension of 15 to 60 days.

A horse who tests between 25 and 50 parts per billion will be suspended until testing determines that the horse is below the 25 ppb threshold.

The rule was adopted unanimously at a commission meeting Tuesday on an emergency basis, and it is expected to go into effect in the next six to eight weeks, according to Mike Hopkins, the commission’s executive director. The rule will still need to be formally adopted through the usual rule-making process, but Hopkins said the formal rule likely will be adopted before the duration of the emergency rule expires.

Maryland is the first racing commission to adopt the two-tier threshold since the RCI issued its recommendation in late April. Last year, Indiana adopted a 25 ppb threshold. Several racing commissions, including the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, are expected to consider the two-tier threshold in the next several months.

Cobalt is an essential trace mineral that is taken up in a horse’s feed, but regulators worldwide have alleged that horsemen have been administering the substance excessively through cobalt salts to obtain a cheap blood-doping effect. No studies have determined that the substance is performance-enhancing, but testing of racehorses has determined that natural levels of the substance are well below 10 ppb.

Several U.S. racing jurisdictions, including Maryland, have been testing for cobalt concentrations over the past year. Hopkins said that no Thoroughbred horses in Maryland have tested above the 50 ppb threshold, though several Standardbred horses exceeded the threshold.

“Mostly, we’ve seen undetectable levels, and I’d say the mean was somewhere around 7 parts per billion,” Hopkins said.

Worldwide, dozens of horses have tested well above 50 ppb, indicating that the horses were administered substances containing high concentrations of the mineral, according to regulators. U.S. regulators also have said that once horsemen became aware that commissions were testing for cobalt, concentrations dropped precipitously.