Research project formed for MRLS

The Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation has allocated $56,400 in an equal partnership with the State of Kentucky to fund a research project on Mare Reproductive Loss Syndrome (MRLS).

The $112,800 project was developed by Dr. Noah Cohen, a

epidemiologist at Texas A & M University.

Dr. Cohen is assembling a team, which will include Dr. Vincent Carey, assistant professor of biostatistics at the Harvard Medical School, to characterize clinical disorders that caused the fetal loss, identify causal factors, and formulate a plan for preparation, control, and prevention in the future. Plans call for a report by early in 2002 in order to aid farm managers prior to the spring breeding season.

The Foundation had earlier funded an initial fact-finding trip to Kentucky, during which Dr. Cohen met with personnel from the University of Kentucky, the Kentucky Livestock Disease

Diagnostic Center, and the Kentucky Association of Equine Practitioners.