The Racing Medication and Testing Consortium (RMTC) and the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) on Dec. 7 released a new set of test barn and chain of custody recommendations designed to encourage the use of best practices at racetracks.

The living document is a joint initiative of the RMTC and the NTRA Safety and Integrity Alliance and was announced at the University of Arizona Race Track Industry Program’s annual Global Symposium on Racing and Gaming in Tucson, Arizona.

The document, Test Barn Chain of Custody and Procedures: Considerations and Recommendations, includes best practice protocols covering:

  • Identification and supervision of horses to be tested;
  • Types of samples to be collected;
  • Chain of custody, security, identification, and recordkeeping within the test barn;
  • Sample collection and management;
  • Separate procedures for total carbon dioxide (TCO2) testing;
  • Out-of-competition sampling;
  • Facility design and equipment;
  • Surveillance; and
  • Personnel.

The document is available on the NTRA website.

“Pre- and post-race sampling at the racetrack test barn are the industry’s front line for ensuring fair, safe racing through medication and substance integrity,” said Steve Koch, executive director of the NTRA Safety and Integrity Alliance.

Added Dionne Benson, DVM, executive director and chief operating officer of the RMTC, “There are so m