Edited press release

A Pennsylvania laboratory is the first to employ a definitive test for erythropoietin–the blood-doping agent commonly known as EPO–and the test resulted in the suspension and fining of a trainer of Standardbreds in Ontario, Canada.

The Pennsylvania Equine Toxicology and Research Laboratory in West Chester, Pa., is the first lab in the world to confirm the presence of EPO or Darbepoetin-alfa in a horse, according to a release from the Pennsylvania Harness Racing Commission. The lab confirmed readings from an ELISA test conducted in Toronto on three racehorses.

The Ontario Racing Commission in a release said that as a result of the test results, trainer Todd Gray was suspended for 10 years and fined $100,000 for positives in the horses Lasena, Rair Earth, and My Wicked Willie