Anti-doping regulators release Q3 summary of test results
The Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit released its anti-doping and medication control program statistics Monday, covering the third quarter of 2025.
During the third quarter of 2025, HIWU tested 22,472 samples on 13,366 covered horses. Across those tested samples there were 82 adverse analytical findings, meaning 0.36% of samples showed detections of banned or controlled substances. Twelve of the findings were for banned substances, while the other 70 revealed controlled substances.
The 0.36% rate of adverse analytical findings in the third quarter of 2025 shows a decrease from the 0.53% rate in the data released for the second quarter of 2025. Year-to-year, it was approximately flat compared to the 0.34% rate reported by HIWU in the third quarter of 2024.
New Mexico had the highest percentage of adverse analytical findings in the quarter, with four of the 241 tests in that state (1.66%) coming back positive. Washington, with seven positives across 606 tests, was the only other state with more than 1% adverse analytical findings in the quarter.
On the other end of the spectrum, none of Minnesota's 797 tests in the third quarter resulted in an adverse analytical finding. Just one test across the 963 conducted in New Jersey (0.10%) resulted in a positive for a controlled or banned substance.
| State | Tests | AAF | % AAF |
|---|---|---|---|
| NM | 241 | 4 | 1.66% |
| WA | 606 | 7 | 1.16% |
| MD | 532 | 5 | 0.94% |
| DE | 878 | 5 | 0.57% |
| PA | 2,470 | 14 | 0.57% |
| IN | 1,145 | 5 | 0.44% |
| IL | 999 | 4 | 0.40% |
| OK | 511 | 2 | 0.39% |
| FL | 1,287 | 4 | 0.31% |
| KY | 1,803 | 5 | 0.28% |
| OH | 2,176 | 6 | 0.28% |
| IA | 1,092 | 3 | 0.27% |
| CA | 3,184 | 8 | 0.25% |
| NY | 2,840 | 7 | 0.25% |
| VA | 948 | 2 | 0.21% |
| NJ | 963 | 1 | 0.10% |
| MN | 797 | 0 | 0.00% |
| Total | 22,472 | 82 | 0.36% |
Among banned substances detected in the third quarter, six of the 12 were for albuterol, a bronchodilator. The only other banned substance with multiple findings in the quarter was testosterone, for which there were two. Among controlled substances the most commonly detected were the pain reliever and anti-inflammatory phenylbutazone and the muscle relaxant methocarbomol, with seven findings each.
HIWU also reported that 87.4% of the notices it served during the quarter resulted in charges. A notice is the first contact with a responsible person after a positive test, including equine anti-doping notices for banned substances and equine controlled medication notices for controlled substances. After reviewing the information provided by the responsible person, if HIWU chooses to continue with the case, it issues a charge.
In the report HISA also noted a slight reduction in the amount of time it takes to resolve a case. The average resolution time in the third quarter of 2024 was 64.3 days, but as of Dec. 8, 2025, that time had inched down to 62.7 days.
The full report is available for download on the HIWU website.