STONESTREET OFFERS BLOOD-TEST REPOSITORY

As the North American yearling sale season began in July, one headline topic was the Thoroughbred breeding and sales industry’s response to the issue of bisphosphonates – a class of drugs that are approved for use in older horses to treat osteoporosis, but also are rumored to have been abused in young horses to build bone density. Earlier this year, the continent’s three major auction companies – Keeneland, Fasig-Tipton, and the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co. – announced a joint policy where buyers of young horses will be able to request testing for bisphosphonates, a move intended to stop the off-label use of the drugs.

Several notable breeders and auction consignors applauded the policy as an important step toward transparency and integrity, including Barbara Banke’s Stonestreet Farm. Now, Stonestreet has gone a step further by essentially developing its own bisphosphonate test repository. Stonestreet announced Monday that it has partnered with the University of Kentucky’s Maxwell H. Gluck Equine Research Center to develop blood sampling, testing, and secure storage protocols that will allow buyers of Stonestreet-bred and -raised yearlings to review a blood-health window of several months prior to their purchase.

“It’s not only good for our business, it’s good for our sport,” Banke said. “We believe nature is the best way to build strong muscle and good bones.

“Transparency is so important. It breeds confidence in buyers.”

The Gluck Center is the only scientific institute in the United States with nearly all faculty conducting full-time research in equine health and diseases. Taking point on the Stonestreet project is analytical chemistry professor Dr. Scott Stanley, whose focus is equine pharmacology and toxicology. During 2019, blood samples were drawn from each Stonestreet yearling on a regular schedule developed by Gluck using current bisphosphonate detection periods. The samples were drawn by a third-party veterinarian hired by Gluck, ensuring accuracy via chain-of-custody protocols. Samples, which were tested for bisphosphonates and growth promotants, were stored and frozen in accordance with regulatory laboratory standards established for pre- and postrace blood samples.

With this repository available, the purchaser of a Stonestreet yearling may request a report of the test results for the individual. At their own expense, they also may request additional testing – such as for anabolic steroids – on the samples remaining in secure storage at the Gluck Center.

In addition to breeding to race, via a formidable broodmare band that Banke has developed, Stonestreet is a prominent commercial breeder, sending young stock to major auctions via a variety of consignors. At last year’s Keeneland September yearling sale, 57 Stonestreetbred yearlings were sold, via nine different consignors, for a total gross of more than $18.3 million. That group was led by three seven-figure yearlings – a $2.1 million Medaglia d’Oro colt to Phoenix Thoroughbreds, via Taylor Made Sales Agency; a $1.8 million Curlin colt to OXO Equine, via Summerfield Sales; and a $1.6 million Medaglia d’Oro colt to Godolphin, via Gainesway.