At the May 19 Ohio State Racing Commission (OSRC) meeting, discussion continued regarding a new study concerning the effects of cobalt on Thoroughbred and Standardbred racehorses.

James Robertson, DVM, consulting veterinarian, updated the OSRC on the progress of the OSRC/The Ohio State University (OSU) and Ohio Department of Agriculture’s Analytical Toxicology Laboratory’s (ATL) comprehensive cobalt research study, which focuses on what cobalt does to a horse’s system and its potential effect on racehorses.

Robertson said the most recent meeting of the cobalt research committee was held May 12 at OSU to discuss the study parameters.

Beverly Byrum, MS, DVM, PhD, director of Laboratories for ATL, the Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, and the Consumer Protection Lab, spoke in detail about the ATL, the official equine drug testing lab for the Ohio State Racing Commission