The Jockey Club will provide up to $500,000 in 2014-15 to some racing jurisdictions to step up out-of-competition drug testing with a focus on graded stakes.

The initiative, announced Aug. 11 at The Jockey Club Round Table in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., signals more involvement by the organization in the area of medication and equine drug testing. Much of this year’s round table conference dealt with drugs and how their use is perceived in horse racing.

Jockey Club vice chairman Stuart Janney III said about one-third of racing regulatory agencies have rules that permit out-of-competition testing. Many of them, however, don’t conduct the screenings in part because of cost or legal issues.

Janney cited some progress. In 2012-13, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission tested each starter in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands at least twice before the race, and in New York, the New York State Gaming Commission tested starters in two grade I events: the Belmont Stakes and Wood Memorial Stakes