The National Horseracing Authority has just been advised that, in the International Laboratory Proficiency Testing  Program conducted during 2019 by the Association of Official Racing Chemists, its Laboratory has again obtained a perfect score of 100% in detecting prohibited substance at the required sensitivities in blind urine as well as blood specimens.

In a separate International Testing Program over the last 12 months, negative NHA racing specimens were re-analysed at several overseas racing laboratories. This external testing confirmed that these specimens did not contain any prohibited substances. The NHA Laboratory also achieved a perfect score of 100% in this program.

The National Horseracing Authority’s Laboratory complies with the ISO/IEC 17025 which is the world quality standard for chemical and biological testing laboratories and it complies with the racing standard ILAC-G7 (Accreditation Requirements and Operating Criteria for Horseracing Laboratories). In this regard, it is audited annually by the South African National Accreditation System.

The Laboratory acts as a confirmatory laboratory for racing jurisdictions such as France, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom which clearly demonstrates their confidence that it can confirm prohibited substances which their laboratories detect.

In discussing the Laboratory’s achievements Vee Moodley, the Chief Executive of The National Horseracing Authority, said, “Our laboratory, despite its modest size and limited budget, is internationally respected for its standards and capabilities.  It has the demonstrated capability of confirming the presence of prohibited substances which can be found by the other top equine forensic laboratories in the world.  People involved in racing, both locally and internationally, can be assured that our capabilities are world class”.