DNA Profiling of Horse Urine Samples to Confirm Donor Identity

The capacity to provide independent and unambiguous confirmation of the identity of the donor of a biological test sample (whether urine or blood) would be of enormous benefit to the Australian horse racing industry. There are approximately 20 000 horse races per year in Australia, equating to an average of 60 races per day (Australian Racing Board, 2001). Drug testing is routinely carried out in race meets across Australia and has become an increasingly sophisticated science with tests being made for an increasing number of drugs. However, the increased efficiency and frequency of drug testing has also led to a need for independent confirmation of the identity of a drug-positive urine sample. Frequently, the identity of the donor of a drug-positive urine sample is challenged. Independent confirmation would remove any question of sample substitution and would provide unequivocal identification of the horse that provided the drug-positive sample. This is the final report for a RIRDC-funded research project that aimed to develop methods to allow urine samples from horses to be independently identified using DNA profile analysis.