University of Kentucky sells equine drug-testing lab to private company

The equine drug-testing laboratory operated by the University of Kentucky has been sold to a private company, the school announced Thursday.

Eagle Diagnostics, a company that operates a diagnostics and testing laboratory in Utah, purchased the lab and has tabbed Travis Mays as its director. Mays was formerly the head of the Texas A&M lab’s analytical chemistry section.

According to the University of Kentucky, the lab will be re-named the Equine Integrity & Anti-Doping Sciences Lab and will conduct anti-doping tests for the “equine and competition animal industries.”

Kentucky launched the lab in 2019, and the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission began using it for drug testing in 2022. But the lab lost its accreditation in March 2024 after concerns surfaced over the quality of its testing. An investigation conducted by the university and the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority led to the firing of the lab's director, Dr. Scott Stanley, in September.

The Racing Medication and Testing Consortium restored the accreditation for the lab late last year on a provisional basis. Under the provisional status, the lab will be granted full accreditation after one year, as long as it complies with the RMTC’s requirements.

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