On Thursday, April 27, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario sent out an informational bulletin in regard to cobalt testing.

The contents of the AGCO bulletin appear below.

On April 6, 2017, the Canadian Pari-Mutuel Agency (CPMA) released a Memorandum to the Canadian horse racing industry. “The CPMA would like to bring to the attention of the Canadian horse racing industry that as of February 22, 2017, cobalt was officially added to Section 2 of the Schedule to the Pari-Mutuel Betting Supervision Regulations.”

On April 21, 2017, the CPMA released another Memorandum with additional information regarding new cobalt thresholds. “Further to the Canadian Pari-Mutuel Agency’s (CPMA) Industry Notice dated April 6, 2017, regarding the implementation of CPMA cobalt testing effective May 1, 2017, the CPMA has received questions about what this means from a practical perspective given that cobalt occurs naturally in the horse.”

As a result, effective May 1, 2017 Amended General Directive No. 2/2015 addressing enhanced testing for cobalt, is no longer in force.

Please refer to the attached GENERAL DIRECTIVE NO. 2 – 2017 – Rescinding Enhanced Cobalt Testing Directive.

The AGCO issues this Information Bulletin as a service. AGCO licensees are expected to know the Rules of Racing, closely review all memos from the CPMA, and keep up to date on the Schedule of Prohibited Drugs.

To read these notices in French, click here.