Following the approval by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA)  Reference Laboratory Appointment Committee (RLAC), it was announced today that the Laboratory of Racing Chemistry, Japan (LRC) has been fully appointed as an IFHA Reference Laboratory.  Following its application and a remote assessment that took place in 2021 due to the ongoing travel restrictions imposed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, LRC was granted provisional appointment as an IFHA Reference Laboratory in July 2021. An on-site assessment took place in June 2022 which resulted in a recommendation that LRC become the sixth appointed IFHA Reference Laboratory.

“I want to commend the Laboratory of Racing Chemistry for its hard work, diligence and patience in becoming an IFHA Reference Laboratory,” said Reference Laboratory Appointment Committee (RLAC) Chair Andrew Harding. “This application commenced prior to the onset of COVID-19, and LRC was markedly professional in responding to the challenges of this process that were additionally brought on by the pandemic. We congratulate them for becoming the sixth IFHA Reference Laboratory.”

The President of the LRC, Dr Toru Anzai remarked: “I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the members of the RLAC of the IFHA for its continuous efforts to assist the LRC in the application of an IFHA Reference Laboratory. The LRC's successful appointment as an IFHA Reference Laboratory was mainly attributed to its effective teamwork and professional expertise, most importantly tremendous support from the Japan Racing Association (JRA). After becoming the sixth IFHA Reference Laboratory, the LRC will certainly contribute more to the racing industry and work even more closely with the IFHA and the other five IFHA Reference Laboratories in the coming future."

The LRC, established in 1965, is an internationally accredited horse racing doping control laboratory primarily used to provide professional analytical testing services for the analysis of equine biological samples including urine, blood and hair from horse racing and international equestrian events. LRC is the only equine drug testing laboratory in Japan, and its main role is to uphold the integrity of horse racing in Japan to ensure a level playing field for all stakeholders.

Following its appointment, LRC joins Racing Analytical Services Limited (Australia); Laboratoire Des Courses Hippiques (France); LGC Group, Sport & Specialised Analytical Services (Great Britain); the Hong Kong Jockey Club Racing Laboratory (Hong Kong); and the Kenneth L. Maddy Equine Analytical Chemistry Laboratory, University of California at Davis (USA) as IFHA Reference Laboratories. As part of the application process, IFHA Reference Laboratories successfully satisfy criteria that include but are not limited to the scale of operations, resourcing, research activity and capability to detect the use of prohibited substances, including the major doping agents (MDAs).

The IFHA Reference Laboratory White Manual with annexes, updated for July 2022, can be found at https://ifhaonline.org/default.asp?section=IABRW&area=13.