Horse racing regulators are in the process of testing several products produced by Texas-based Weatherford Compounding Pharmacy, based on the officials’ belief that the company is among several compounders that are either manufacturing performance-enhancing or pain-killing products that are undetectable on drug tests or marketing their products as such.

In September regulators in New Mexico confiscated Weatherford products, as well as similar substances from other compounders, at a Ruidoso Downs Quarter Horse meet and sent them to the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium (RMTC), which represents 24 industry stakeholders on medication and testing issues. RMTC Executive Director Dionne Benson, DVM, said the RMTC is testing 19 such products taken at Ruidoso—more than half of which are from Weatherford—to determine the exact ingredients.

By working through groups such as The Jockey Club and Mid-Atlantic Uniform Medication Program to limit medications to a short list of specific therapeutic drugs while banning all other substances, the RMTC has tried to identify such compounded substances that could range from harmless amino acids and vitamins to serious painkillers and performance enhancers.

While some amino acids might be innocuous, Benson noted that by using the right mix of amino acids, it is possible for a compounder to formulate dermorphin, the powerful painkiller known as "frog juice