Stanley, former head of Kentucky equine drug-testing lab, denies allegations

Dr. Scott Stanley, the former director of a drug-testing laboratory at the University of Kentucky, has denied several allegations that underpinned the loss of the lab’s accreditation and his own removal as head of the facility.

Cristina Keith, Dr. Stanley’s attorney, said in a letter distributed to media on Friday that claims Stanley falsified results at the lab and improperly billed the Horseracing Integrity and Wagering Unit were unsupported by evidence. She also said that the accusations had inflicted “irreparable” harm on Stanley’s personal and professional reputation.

Two weeks ago, HIWU and the University of Kentucky released separate documents outlining a variety of charges against Stanley, who was brought in to run the lab in 2018 but was removed from his position in February while the university conducted an “ongoing personnel investigation.” A month later, HIWU rescinded its accreditation of the lab.

Those reports claimed that the lab had found evidence of potential drug positives in 146 samples that had not been forwarded to other labs for confirmatory testing. In other cases, the lab sent samples for confirmatory testing that had been improperly tested, the report said.

The HIWU report also said that Stanley was frequently “unprofessional” in his communications with HIWU staff and other personnel involved in drug testing. It further alleged that the lab improperly billed HIWU for tests. Officials overseeing HIWU have said they would be seeking $1 million in reimbursements for false billings from the lab.

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The letter from Keith said the claims in the reports were made “without evidence.”

“The report offers no concrete documentation – no email records, timelines, or verified communications – leaving the allegations vague and unsupported,” the letter said. “Nevertheless, the press has accepted these accusations without scrutiny or fact-checking, painting an incomplete and misleading picture.”

The letter blamed “inconsistent guidance and lack of standardized operating procedures” for the “discrepancies” between the UK lab and HIWU over the lab’s billing. The letter also said that Stanley “categorically denies the allegation that he falsified results.”

After the reports were released, UK said in a statement that it would seek to revoke Stanley’s tenure and terminate him as a university employee. The statement called Stanley’s actions at the lab a “serious breach of ethics and policy violations.”

Keith’s letter indicated that Stanley would push back against UK’s efforts to remove him.

“Dr. Stanley remains unwavering in his commitment to integrity and excellence in equine testing, values that have defined both his career and [the lab’s] service to the industry,” the letter said. “He will continue to stand for these principles in the face of HIWU’s baseless and harmful accusations.”

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