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HIWU's Annual Report provides an overview of the organization's activities as the independent enforcement agency of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority's Anti-Doping and Medication Control Program. **Please note when downloading the PDF it is best viewed as a side-by-side two page document.**

The Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit (HIWU) announced today the release of its 2025 Annual Report. The full report is available here. The Annual Report details HIWU’s organization-wide activities as the independent enforcement agency of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority’s (HISA) Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Program. Among the highlights are statistics on testing, results management, the adjudication of cases, investigations, and educational efforts. In addition to extensive ADMC data, the 2025 Annual Report summarizes new procedures, programs, and technologies that were incorporated last year to further enhance the ADMC Program. Among the significant additions were the launch of the HISA Equine Analytical Laboratory (HEAL) Accreditation Program, standardization of sample collection equipment nationwide, and development of a Learning Management System for training and recertifying Sample Collection Personnel. “HIWU’s 2025 Annual Report reflects our team’s continued success in administering HISA’s ADMC Program,” said Ben Mosier, executive director for HIWU. “With our role in the Thoroughbred industry now established, we have been able to invest in meaningful projects that will ensure a professional, effective, and fair Program that will benefit racing participants for years to come.” All Annual Reports and Quarterly Statistics are archived in the About Us section of the HIWU website at hiwu.org for viewing anytime. About the Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit The Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit (HIWU) was established in 2022 by Drug Free Sport International to administer the rules and enforcement mechanisms of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority’s (HISA) Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Program. The ADMC Program established a centralized testing and results management process that applies uniform penalties for violations efficiently and consistently across all American Thoroughbred racing jurisdictions that HISA governs. As the enforcement agency of the ADMC Program, HIWU oversees all testing processes, including the selection of horses to be tested, training of sample collection personnel, and chain-of-custody procedures. Additionally, HIWU is charged with industry/stakeholder education, laboratory accreditation, results management and adjudication, and investigations. For more information, please visit hiwu.org. Contact: Alexa Ravit, HIWU Director of Communications & Outreach  (816) 516-9572  aravit@hiwu.org 

The Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit (HIWU) announced today that it has suspended the probationary Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) Equine Analytical Laboratory (HEAL) accreditation status of the Analytical Toxicology Laboratory at the Ohio Department of Agriculture (“Ohio Lab”) for a minimum of six months, starting February 9, 2026. Samples collected in Ohio are being sent to the Kenneth L. Maddy Equine Analytical Chemistry Laboratory at the University of California, Davis for analysis. HIWU’s independent Laboratory Expert Group, which evaluates the performance of Program laboratories, recommended the suspension of the Ohio Lab’s probationary HEAL accreditation due to nonconformities associated with HEAL compliance. HIWU, in consultation with its Laboratory Expert Group, will review the Ohio Lab’s response to this suspension and associated corrective actions. Probationary accreditation status will not be restored unless and until the laboratory is in full compliance with HEAL. HIWU’s review of the Ohio Lab is ongoing, and any impact on resolved or pending ADMC Program cases will be publicly disclosed in accordance with Program rules. The HEAL accreditation program was implemented on January 1, 2025, and is the national laboratory accreditation program established by HISA’s Anti-Doping and Medication Control Program. Overseen by HIWU, it builds on the foundations of the ISO 17025 and Racing Medication & Testing Consortium models and requires a robust External Quality Assessment Scheme to ensure that Program laboratories maintain HEAL standards. About the Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit The Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit (HIWU) was established in 2022 by Drug Free Sport International to administer the rules and enforcement mechanisms of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority’s (HISA) Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Program. The ADMC Program established a centralized testing and results management process that applies uniform penalties for violations efficiently and consistently across all American Thoroughbred racing jurisdictions that HISA governs. As the enforcement agency of the ADMC Program, HIWU oversees all testing processes, including the selection of horses to be tested, training of sample collection personnel, and chain-of-custody procedures. Additionally, HIWU is charged with industry/stakeholder education, laboratory accreditation, results management and adjudication, and investigations. For more information, please visit hiwu.org. Contact: Alexa Ravit, HIWU Director of Communications & Outreach  (816) 516-9572  aravit@hiwu.org 

Under HISA’s Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Program, Covered Persons, including veterinarians, are prohibited from possessing Banned Substances or Banned Methods at all times in facilities or jurisdictions covered by HISA unless they can show a “compelling justification” for the possession. Learn more about compelling justification in this resource.

HISA and HIWU Announce Proposed Updates to Testing Specifications for Metformin

N-Butyl-Alcohol meets the criteria of an S0 Banned Substance under HISA’s Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Program because it is not FDA-approved for use in any species and does not have a valid veterinary use in the horse.

The Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit (HIWU) announced today that Equine Integrity and Anti-Doping Sciences (EQIAS) Labs has been granted probationary Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority Equine Analytical Laboratory (HEAL) accreditation and will start accepting Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Program samples, effective immediately. EQIAS Labs, formerly known as the University of Kentucky Equine Analytical Chemistry Laboratory, is no longer managed by the university and is now operated by Eagle Diagnostics, an affiliate of The Sports Medicine Research and Testing Laboratory (SMRTL). EQIAS Labs applied for HEAL accreditation after the laboratory achieved interim Racing Medication & Testing Consortium accreditation under the University of Kentucky in December 2024. EQIAS Labs submitted detailed documentation demonstrating its qualifications and capabilities to perform the testing required under the ADMC Program in compliance with the Program Rules. Additionally, HIWU conducted a site visit and directed the distribution of multiple External Quality Assessment Scheme samples to EQIAS Labs for analysis. All documentation and assessments were reviewed by the three members of the independent Laboratory Expert Group, who voted to approve EQIAS Labs for probationary HEAL accreditation. The Laboratory Expert Group is required by the ADMC Program Rules and evaluates the performance of Program laboratories, in addition to providing HIWU with advice and recommendations regarding the overall management of HEAL accreditation and the Equine Laboratory Standards included in the ADMC Program Rules. “HIWU is excited to partner with EQIAS Labs and renew ADMC Program testing in Kentucky,” said Ben Mosier, HIWU’s executive director. “We are confident that EQIAS Labs will utilize the best of both equine and human anti-doping science and will be a positive addition to our Program.” EQIAS Labs is led by Dr. Travis Mays, who spent more than 20 years at the Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory, while SMRTL is a global industry leader in human drug testing and is accredited by the World Anti-Doping Agency. EQIAS Labs will be analyzing ADMC Program samples collected in Kentucky, as well as assigned B Samples. The full list of Program laboratories is published on the HIWU website. About the Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit The Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit (HIWU) was established in 2022 by Drug Free Sport International to administer the rules and enforcement mechanisms of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority’s (HISA) Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Program. The ADMC Program established a centralized testing and results management process that applies uniform penalties for violations efficiently and consistently across all American Thoroughbred racing jurisdictions that HISA governs. As the enforcement agency of the ADMC Program, HIWU oversees all testing processes, including the selection of horses to be tested, training of sample collection personnel, and chain-of-custody procedures. Additionally, HIWU is charged with industry/stakeholder education, laboratory accreditation, results management and adjudication, and investigations. For more information, please visit hiwu.org. Contact: Alexa Ravit, Director of Communications & Outreach (816) 516-9572 aravit@hiwu.org

Just because a substance isn’t named on the Prohibited List doesn’t mean it’s permitted. Learn how S0 substances, even those not specifically named under HISA's ADMC Program Rules, can lead to potential violations under the Program.

El hecho de que una sustancia no figure en la Lista de Prohibiciones no significa que esté permitida. Descubra cómo las sustancias S0, incluso aquellas que no figuran específicamente en las Normas del Programa ADMC de HISA, pueden dar lugar a posibles infracciones del Programa.