2018 Testing Results

Breeders’ Cup completed an unprecedented out of competition pre- and post-race testing program at the 2018 Breeders’ Cup World Championships at Churchill Downs on November 2-3, which included the testing of 289 horses.

Out of competition testing began in July with all Breeders’ Cup Challenge winners and other targeted possible starters in both North America and overseas, and continued right up until the Championships at Churchill Downs.

Breeders’ Cup engaged an OOC testing coordinator, Dr. William Farmer, who worked with regulatory associations and with testing laboratories around the world, including the British Horse Racing Authority’s Lab LGC, France Galop’s official Lab LCH and the Kenneth L. Maddy Equine Analytical Chemistry Laboratory at the University of California-Davis. All three labs are certified by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities. The executive council of the IFHA also specifically endorsed the updated protocols of the Breeders’ Cup which were put in place in advance of the 2018 World Championships.

Through pre-race testing, 95 individual trainers had a representative horse sampled. A total of 85 trainers, representing 94% of the horses entered in the World Championships, had runners tested by the Breeders’ Cup. Breeders’ Cup, in conducting its own out of competition testing, had access to all results prior to race day. All post-race samples collected from 2018 Breeders’ Cup horses were cleared by the Maddy Laboratory as was reported by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission. All horses competing in Breeders’ Cup races also underwent pre-race testing for total carbon dioxide (TCO2) levels in blood. The Maddy Laboratory then conducted post-race testing of both blood and urine samples for prohibited drugs, including cobalt, collected from the first four finishers in all Breeders’ Cup races and any additional random horses selected by the stewards consistent with KHRC protocol. The program tested for anabolic steroids, blood doping agents and growth hormones, among others.