Scollay named Racing Medication and Testing Consortium executive director

Dr. Mary Scollay, the equine medical director for the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, has been hired as the next executive director and chief operating officer of the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium (RMTC), the organization announced Tuesday.

In her new role, which she assumes Aug. 5, Scollay will oversee the advancement of laboratory drug-testing standards, promotion of RMTC-recommended rules and penalties for prohibited substances and therapeutic medications, monitoring issues concerning the integrity of racing and the health and welfare of racehorses, and administrative oversight of RMTC-funded research projects and educational programs.

An RMTC search committee for the position selected Scollay, who, in addition to her work with KHRC for more than a decade, also is an adjunct faculty member at the University of Kentucky. Scollay's role with the KHRC involved consulting with the commission on matters related to equine health, safety, and welfare, directing regulatory veterinary activities at Kentucky racetracks, acting as the liaison to the official drug-testing laboratory for all aspects of anti-doping and medication regulation programs, providing stakeholder education and expert testimony, and conducting investigations and equine mortality reviews. Scollay has represented the Kentucky Equine Drug Research Council on the RMTC board of directors and Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) since 2013.

“We are very pleased to have Dr. Scollay on board,” RMTC chairman Alex Waldrop said in a press release. “She has been working with the RMTC for years now, and that will enable her to hit the ground running in this new capacity, at a pivotal time for the RMTC and the entire horse racing industry.”

Scollay also previously served as the senior association veterinarian for Calder Race Course and Gulfstream Park and as an adjunct faculty member for Miami Dade College’s Department of Veterinary Technology. She also participated on the Horseracing Testing Laboratories Committee and chaired the SAC Communications Committee, where she assisted in the development of educational materials on test barn chain of custody and procedures, responsibly managing a horse’s environment, the 95/95 tolerance interval, and threshold and withdrawal guidelines for controlled therapeutic substances.

She was appointed by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo as a member of the New York Task Force on Racehorse Health and Safety, worked as a veterinary consultant for The Jockey Club Equine Injury Database, served as a board member of the Racing Surfaces Testing Laboratory, and participated on committees such as the American Association of Equine Practitioners Racing Committee and Professional Conduct and Ethics Committee, Grayson Jockey Club Welfare and Safety Summit Steering Committee, European Horse Racing Scientific Liaison Committee, and National Thoroughbred Racing Association Safety and Integrity Alliance Code of Standards Committee.