New York drug-testing lab gains accreditation
An industry-funded racing organization has granted full accreditation to the drug-testing laboratory that is required by law to be used for horse racing taking place in New York State, the organization said on Friday.
The Racing Medication and Testing Consortium accredited the New York Drug Testing Laboratory after a vote by its Horseracing Testing Laboratory Committee, the RMTC said. The laboratory, based at Morrisville State University in upstate New York, conducts drug testing for all Thoroughbreds and Standardbreds that race in the state.
The laboratory is the eighth to be fully accredited by the RMTC, which is funded by a wide cross-section of racing constituents. According to the RMTC, the eight accredited labs conduct drug testing for 28 of the 34 racing jurisdictions in the U.S.
The RMTC implemented its accreditation program in 2013 due to long-standing concerns inside and outside the industry about the quality of the sport’s drug-testing laboratories. The accredited labs must also be certified under international standards for analytical laboratories.