UK Plans to Fire Former Lab Director Stanley

A nine-page report released Sept. 17 from the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority and its enforcement arm alleges Dr. Scott Stanley was removed from his leadership position of the University of Kentucky's Equine Analytical Chemistry Laboratory because the lab failed to meet standards on several fronts. Perhaps the most concerning of those allegations is that the lab, under Stanley's direction, failed to perform confirmatory analysis on samples whose initial screening showed the potential presence of a prohibited substance. Also Tuesday morning, the University of Kentucky issued a release saying it would move to terminate Stanley's employment after it concluded that he did not follow appropriate business practices in reporting equine drug tests and did not honor certain standards and obligations. Those allegations were detailed in a 25-page draft audit report from the university. A statement issued Tuesday evening by Stanley's attorney, Cristina Keith, called the University of Kentucky audit report inaccurate and said Stanley didn't intentionally do anything wrong. "We are aware of the press release by the University of Kentucky related to its internal audit of the operations of the Equine Analytical Chemistry Lab while under the direction of my client, Dr. Scott Stanley," Keith wrote. "The characterizations of his actions in the audit are inaccurate, lack context, and do not take into consideration the complexities of the EACL's day-to-day operations. "But, most importantly, Dr. Stanley denies the allegations of intentional wrongdoing contained in the audit. Dr. Stanley has committed his career to ensuring the integrity of scientific testing and safeguarding the trust placed in him and the institutions with which he is affiliated. It is essential that due process is respected, and that Dr. Stanley be given the opportunity to more thoroughly respond to the accusations in the university's audit after a more substantive review of its contents and underlying process. Dr. Stanley looks forward to providing a more complete and accurate account of the conduct addressed in the audit." The report from HISA and its enforcement arm, the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit, follows an investigation that began in February. BloodHorse reported Stanley's removal in early March, when it also reported that in mid-February HISA/HIWU had stopped sending collected samples to the Lexington lab—instead sending them to Industrial Laboratories. That month BloodHorse also reported that an investigation of the lab by HISA/HIWU was connected to Stanley's removal. At the time he retained a position in the Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food, and Environment, but on Tuesday the University of Kentucky said that initial findings of its investigation "warrant the additional disciplinary measure of tenure revocation, with the intention of terminating him as a university employee." UK said its internal investigation points to Stanley, "reporting a test result to a client when the lab had not tested the sample in question." The HISA/HIWU release on Tuesday said that the regulator launched an investigation into the lab after persistent delays in reporting results, unprofessional staff behavior, and unresponsiveness to HIWU communications. It added that ultimately the catalyst for the commencement of the investigation was the discovery by HIWU of intentional misrepresentations that were made about sample analysis. The release noted the following findings after the six-month investigation: UK-EACL's failure to comply with mandatory testing specifications and instructions, including its standard operating procedures and sample analysis methods. UK-EACL misrepresented both its ability to test for specific substances, including erythropoietin (EPO), and the completion of analysis for certain substances on specific samples. At the direction of UK-EACL director Stanley, the laboratory failed to perform confirmatory analysis on 91 samples whose initial screening showed the potential presence of a prohibited substance and therefore required follow-up, instead reporting the samples as negative. The University of Kentucky confirmed Tuesday that in February the college first began investigating Stanley's management of the lab, which provided drug testing for the equine industry. At the same time, HIWU and HISA met with the college to raise concerns about the lab's management and customer service. Soon after that meeting, HIWU informed the college that it had evidence that Stanley lied about analyzing a sample. Once university officials became aware of these concerns, the university launched a thorough investigation through its internal audit office, working in parallel with HIWU to uncover facts and remedy issues. "We appreciate our partners HIWU and HISA bringing forth concerns so that we could investigate the problem and act decisively to take corrective action," said Martin-Gatton CAFE Dean Nancy Cox. As a result of the findings from the six-month investigation, HIWU re-analyzed and reconciled all remaining potentially affected samples. According to the report, further analysis of potentially affected samples from the lab indicated two samples had adverse analytical findings (a positive) for controlled medication substances. HIWU plans to move forward on those findings. One sample was for a Class B Controlled Medication. In that case, HIWU notes that the covered person may be entitled to a reduction or elimination of suspension days considering the substantial delays to the adjudication process, but the disqualification of results and assignment of penalty points under the ADMC Program can't be modified. HIWU will not seek reimbursement from the owner of the covered horse for purse money but will ensure that all owners receive accurate purse amounts. As for the other AAV, it was a Class C controlled medication substance from a vets' list sample and requires only a written reprimand. The report also noted that further analysis determined that two adverse analytical findings, one for diclofenac and one for phenylbutazone, that were called by the UK-EACL actually should not have been reported by the lab because HIWU found that the presence of the relevant controlled medication substance was not in excess of the screening limit. The report says HIWU will withdraw the sanctions imposed in those cases, including ensuring that all fines, costs, and purses are returned to the relevant covered persons. HISA seeks repayment from the University of Kentucky for the laboratory's non-compliant services. Cox said university officials are in talks with HISA regarding reimbursement for any tests that were billed but were not performed. In an afternoon press conference that followed the report's release, HISA CEO Lisa Lazarus estimated that the reimbursement would be more than $1 million. "HIWU believes that it is inequitable to maintain the consequences of these two reported AAFs when further analysis could not confirm that the prohibited substances could be detected in the samples above the applicable screening limits," the report states. "Therefore HIWU will withdraw these cases." The report notes: "Fortunately, neither of these covered persons was required to serve any suspension." "A key component of HIWU's mandate is to protect the integrity of Thoroughbred racing and resolve potential deficiencies as soon as possible," said Ben Mosier, HIWU's executive director. "Through our decision to investigate UK-EACL and consequent discovery of ongoing deceitful activities, we're proud to have uncovered and halted these unacceptable practices that were unfair to our horsemen and put horses at risk." Lazarus said: "HISA's and HIWU's actions to uncover these wrongdoings and quickly remedy them is a testament to how the Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Program is enhancing the integrity of our sport and ensuring fairness in competition. We also thank the University of Kentucky for their partnership and cooperation in the investigation." To provide further assurance that the other program laboratories are in compliance with the ADMC Program requirements, HIWU has bolstered its Negative Sample Exchange Program and is preparing to implement HISA Equine Analytical Laboratory accreditation Jan. 1. HEAL accreditation will include enhanced compliance oversight by HIWU and a more robust Equine Quality Assurance Scheme sample program. The HISA-HIWU release said, "HEAL accreditation will give HIWU a strengthened ability to ensure strict compliance by all program laboratories with all ADMC Program requirements." Currently, in a transitional phase, lab accreditation is handled by the Racing Medication & Testing Consortium. HISA/HIWU were initially required to use the services of UK-EACL under the requirements of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act. Stanley was named the lab's director in 2018 after nearly 30 years at the Kenneth L. Maddy Equine Analytical Chemistry Laboratory at the University of California-Davis. UK noted that in the early stages of the investigation, UK auditors, based on information systems evidence, confirmed that Stanley had not performed at least one contracted test and, in other cases, had not followed certain protocols in accordance with industry standards as established by HISA. Those findings led to his March removal as director of the lab. UK named Cynthia Cole, a national leader in the field, as acting director of the EACL. Cole immediately stepped in to address operational deficiencies and communicate with clients and other industry stakeholders. The university is also in active discussions with private parties about a potential partnership or acquisition of the testing lab. The university continues to investigate Stanley's management of the lab and now has initial findings. Among these findings is confirmation that a test commissioned by HIWU was never performed. The findings also indicate that some other test results may have been compromised by Stanley's actions. "Stanley exploited vulnerabilities in technology, governance, and oversight," the audit review concludes. Additionally, the investigation found that Stanley potentially engaged in business and employment relationships that constitute conflicts of interests. Specifically, Stanley purposefully chose not to disclose external work, violating university rules requiring disclosure. The university has referred the matter to UK Police for further review of any possible criminal wrongdoing. "Given the serious breach of ethics and policy violations, we have now initiated the process to revoke Stanley's tenure as a faculty member, with the intention of terminating him as a university employee," said Cox. "In accordance with university rules and regulations, and working with the university's Provost, we are preparing a specific set of findings that will be presented as part of a case to revoke Dr. Stanley's tenure." In 2020, the Commonwealth of Kentucky dedicated $1.5 million in its budget from the Kentucky Equine Drug Research Council toward the lab, which is under the purview of UK's College of Agriculture. The lab also received a $1.3 million commitment in 2019 from Keeneland Association, among other donations. The lab was one of six program laboratories selected for HISA's ADMC program in May 2023. The HISA-HIWU report notes that the UK-EACL lab initially tested samples from Florida and Kentucky. The report noted that the lab's staff soon had a "contentious relationship with the staff of the Florida Gaming Control Commission and Gulfstream Park owner 1/ST Racing. "HIWU received numerous complaints from the Florida commission and 1/ST about the lack of responsiveness and incivility of Dr. Stanley and his staff to their employees," the report says, also noting similar communication problems that developed between the lab's staff and HIWU staff. Because of the conflicts, on Feb. 12 HIWU advised HISA that samples in Florida would be sent to a different lab. At this point HIWU was not aware of any alleged possible deficiencies related to the analyses performed by the lab. At a Feb. 13 meeting of HIWU, HISA, and University of Kentucky officials on the decision to discontinue sending Florida samples to Kentucky, university officials revealed that they were "conducting a human resources-related investigation of Dr. Stanley and his management of UK-EACL." Following that update, HIWU decided to stop sending Kentucky samples to UK-EACL. According to the HIWU/HISA report, a concern about the lab came up when in November 2023 it agreed to perform a targeted confirmatory analysis of a blood sample that another lab suspected contained erythropoietin (EPO). According to the report, after some delay Dr. Stanley notified HIWU in December 2023 that the sample had been analyzed once and the presence of EPO was not confirmed. The lab said it would repeat the analysis to ensure accuracy, and in January 2024 Dr. Stanley notified HIWU that no EPO was detected in the sample. But on Feb. 23, 2024, after HIWU had stopped sending samples to the UK-EACL, a HIWU staff member contacted UK-EACL about how much of the sample suspected to contain EPO remained, as HIWU was considering having another lab examine it. Later that day, HIWU was advised by UK-EACL staff that the sample at issue had never been analyzed, and in fact, had never even been opened. The draft audit report from UK had consistent findings with the HIWU/HISA report regarding the sample suspected to contain EPO and false reports of its testing being given. Going forward, the University of Kentucky appears interested in returning the lab to HISA's standards. To that end, Cox said UK has taken and will continue to take a number of steps to better ensure quality control in the lab's operations through the following steps: Hired a quality assurance manager who reports to the associate dean of research, outside of the lab's chain of command, to ensure there is an appropriate path to report operational issues. Instituting monthly meetings with the college to review financial compliance, quality control, and general operations. Exploring a partnership to maintain a highly respected laboratory to continue serving the racing industry. "At UK, our promise to the state is to advance Kentucky in everything we do. The research and services provided by our labs, institutes, and centers on campus must adhere to the highest standards; be conducted in an ethical manner and follow industry and university regulations," Cox said. "The university and Martin-Gatton CAFE have an enduring commitment to Kentucky's signature equine industry. The EACL is integral to that commitment, and we will work to reconstitute the lab with new oversight, policies, and procedures to ensure we meet those commitments going forward."