WHAT happens away from competition is central to protecting horses and maintaining confidence in equestrian sport. The Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board’s chief veterinary officer Dr Lynn Hillyer outlined at the WBFSH General Assembly how racing’s approach to testing, medication control and traceability addresses risks throughout a horse’s life. Her presentation highlighted common ground between racing and sport horse breeding, particularly around accurate identification, reliable records and transparency.

Horses spend relatively little time competing. Sales preparation, pre-training and breaks from racing therefore form an important part of the regulatory picture, with out-of-competition inspections providing access to horses and information beyond the racecourse.

Hillyer described how authorised officer powers enabled examination of passports, veterinary records and other documentation. These visits involve more than collecting samples: they provide opportunities to understand management practices, explain requirements and identify problems before they escalate.

Medicines registers

Education was a recurring theme. An improvement notice system allows certain shortcomings, including incomplete medicines’ registers, to be addressed through corrective action. Serious welfare, safety or substance concerns still require full disciplinary process.

Hillyer distinguished deliberate doping from medication control, explaining that legitimate treatments can create problems when used incorrectly. Many adverse findings investigated involved medicines administered too close to racing, sometimes through genuine error.

Veterinary involvement and accurate treatment records help establish what a horse received, why it was prescribed and how it was administered.

She also described how early unannounced inspections following an initial laboratory concern can help investigators establish what happened. This can provide an opportunity to address an ongoing management problem, while the formal testing and investigation processes continue.

Changes within the IHRB included improved sample security, digital information capture and clearer separation between investigation and regulatory assessment. Hillyer explained that sound governance requires demonstrable processes, rather than reliance solely on the integrity of individuals.

International collaboration with the FEI and the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities supports shared research and scientific knowledge. Although disciplines differ in their rules and approaches to risk, the underlying questions about medication, testing and horse welfare often overlap.

Detection methods

Lifetime traceability connected these themes. Knowing where horses are kept, including outside licensed premises, is fundamental to understanding their circumstances and providing effective oversight. Hillyer also addressed emerging threats, including gene doping. Detection methods exist and testing has begun, although she stressed that there is currently no evidence of gene doping or gene editing in racing across the jurisdictions with which the IHRB works.

Hillyer showed integrity and welfare are linked through everyday management. The work begins long before a disciplinary hearing, through veterinary care, education, identification and an understanding of what happens to horses beyond competition.