The Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit has suspended the probationary accreditation status of a drug-testing lab operated by the Ohio Department of Agriculture for a minimum of six months, HIWU announced on Tuesday. In a release, HIWU said that the suspension was put in place on the recommendation of its Laboratory Expert Group due to “nonconformities” with the accreditation standards that HIWU began enforcing at the start of 2025. HIWU is the enforcement arm of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority. “HIWU, in consultation with its Laboratory Expert Group, will review the Ohio Lab’s response to this suspension and associated corrective actions,” the release said. “Probationary accreditation status will not be restored unless and until the laboratory is in full compliance” with the accreditation standards. Alexa Ravit, a spokesperson for HIWU, said that HIWU could not comment on the specific protocols or procedures at the Ohio lab that were not in compliance with the accreditation standards. Ravit also said that she could not comment on whether any tests done at the Ohio lab were compromised due to the lack of compliance. “If anything is affected, HIWU will announce that at the appropriate time,” Ravit said. The Analytical Toxicology Lab of the Ohio Department of Agriculture is one of four labs that HIWU has been relying on to test tens of thousands of out-of-competition and post-race samples every year for prohibited or regulated drugs. A fifth lab in Pennsylvania had its probationary accreditation suspended in July of last year and is currently in the process of coming into compliance with the standards. Approximately 6,000 samples were sent to the Ohio lab for testing in 2024, all collected at Ohio tracks, according to HIWU’s latest annual report. In total, HIWU reported 76,000 sample collections nationwide in 2024. Samples that were destined to be tested at the Ohio lab will instead be tested at the Kenneth L. Maddy Equine Analytical Chemistry Laboratory in California, HIWU said.  :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.