Director of UK equine testing lab fired, investigation turned over to police

The University of Kentucky is moving to fire its former equine testing lab director amid allegations of misconduct and mismanagement, including falsifying drug test results in at least one racing case, the university said Tuesday.

Scott Stanley, a professor at the Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment and former director of the Equine Analytical Chemistry Lab, falsified results on a test for banned blood-doping agent Erythropoietin, and at least four other racing test results were questionable, according to a preliminary audit released Tuesday by UK.

Stanley was head of the lab, which tested samples from Kentucky and Florida for the racing industry, from its formation in 2019 to March 2024.

Under the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, racing has moved toward uniform standards in drug testing across the country. The lab at UK was one of six across the U.S. accredited under HISA to be used for testing samples from horses. But in March, the national racing authority dropped UK’s testing lab from its accredited list, meaning drug tests could no longer be performed there for state regulators.

Stanley was removed from his administrative role in March. And on Tuesday, the university announced it would move to fire him after an investigation revealed Stanley “did not follow appropriate business practices in reporting equine drug tests and did not honor certain standards and obligations,” and that Stanley reported a test result to a client when the lab had not conducted the tests, UK said.

An investigation began in February into Stanley’s management of the lab. At the same time, the Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit (HIWU) and HISA met with UK about concerns related to the lab’s management and customer service. HIWU later informed UK that it had evidence Stanley lied about analyzing a sample, UK said.

EPO testing not done

The audit, released Tuesday, found that in at least one case, Stanley told HISA that his lab had found no Erythropoietin in a sample received on Nov. 9, 2023, but the lab had not tested for the substance. His UK lab wasn’t even equipped to do that kind of work, according to the audit.

It is unclear what state or horse was involved.

According to UK, in four cases, all of which were used in racing investigations, the samples “lacked results documentation,” meaning no results were recorded in the university’s system, even though in two of the cases Stanley emailed results to racing officials.

The audit could not substantiate any additional falsifications but found that the lab’s internal systems were inadequately controlled and that “there were numerous opportunities in the (lab’s) standard workflow that could potentially allow for sample tampering or records to be changed,” including “unfettered access” by Dr. Stanley to samples and to records.

UK said it’s “in talks with HISA regarding reimbursement for any tests that were billed but were not performed,” but it is unclear yet how many tests may be involved.

The auditors said they are continuing to evaluate “all accounts to which Dr. Stanley has access over his tenure as EACL director for fraudulent activity.”

According to the audit, investigators “made attempts to meet with Dr. Stanley to discuss these concerns” but he stopped responding to their requests for an interview.

The audit also found that Stanley was paid more than $20,000 by a company that sold scientific equipment to the lab, shared data from the lab with the company and expensed travel for the company to visit UK.

Relationship with lab assistant

Auditors also found that Stanley created a job in the lab to hire a woman with whom he was having a relationship “that went beyond professional.” The woman was a former Thoroughbred horse trainer with numerous family connections in the horseracing industry, according to the audit; the relationship between Stanley and the woman, who is the daughter of a prominent trainer, was never disclosed to the university.

According to documents in the audit, Stanley asked that the woman be excused from classes at Eastern Kentucky University for “her assistance in-person” for what actually was a trip to Palm Beach for the Eclipse Awards, racing’s annual top awards banquet.

Recommendations for security

There were several recommendations, including that a request for proposal be issued for a vendor to provide and maintain a lab information system, and that the lab implement a cybersecurity policy to control access to sensitive data.

“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.

The investigation was conducted through UK’s Internal Audit, alongside HIWU. It has also been referred to UK Police to review for potential criminal wrongdoing. The investigation confirmed the complaint that Stanley had not conducted at least one contracted test, and in other instances, had not followed industry standards and protocols.

According to HISA, the UK lab handled samples from races in Kentucky and Florida. Racing regulators in those states were informed of the issue and that samples would be sent to a lab in Colorado instead.

“Stanley exploited vulnerabilities in technology, governance and oversight, the audit review concludes,” the university said. “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.”

Stanley was recruited to UK in late 2018 from the University of California-Davis to run Kentucky’s equine program and expand it to a commercial testing lab in partnership with the U.S. Equestrian Federation. He holds a tenured faculty position separate from the lab director role, and university officials found that additional disciplinary measures are necessary, including revoking his tenure and firing him from the university.

UK might sell testing lab

UK is in discussions with private parties about future partnerships or acquisition of the testing lab, UK said. Additionally, university officials are in talks with HISA to reimburse the group for any tests that were billed but not completed.

The following steps have been taken to address quality control in the lab moving forward:

• A quality assurance manager has been hired who reports to the associate dean of research, outside of the lab’s chain of command
• Monthly meetings will be held with the college to review financial compliance, quality control and general operations
• The university is exploring partnerships to maintain the laboratory.

“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.”