New Victorian Testing Facility Joins War On Cobalt In Australian Horse Racing

Victoria's Racing Minister Martin Pakula "has joined the fight against cobalt by creating a new-state-of-the-art facility to test for the outlawed substance," according to Patrick Bartley of the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD. Pakula, who is also the Attorney General, will officially open a A$350,000 ($260,000) cobalt testing laboratory, funded with a A$200,000 ($148,000) investment from the Andrews Labor government. All three codes (racing, harness racing and greyhound racing) "have been battling the cobalt positives." Cobalt "is a metal that improves performance by increasing the number of red blood cells, allowing horses to carry more oxygen." It "will be the first laboratory in Victoria that has the capacity to test for cobalt, with samples previously being sent interstate or overseas." Pakula: "Victoria has the capacity to test all racing samples for cobalt in-house, making us a global leader in the fight against performance enhancing substances" (SMH, 8/10).