Club's Racing Chemists Received Top International Recognitions

10/03/2012

Two of the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s racing chemists were presented with top awards at the 19^th International Conference of Racing Analysts and Veterinarians (ICRAV) in Philadelphia, U.S.A. Head of Racing Laboratory Dr Terence Wan was presented with the most prestigious Association of Official Racing Chemists (AORC) Award, while Acting Racing Chemist Dr Jenny Wong was honoured with the Young Scientist Award.

The 19^th ICRAV, held between 15 and 22 September 2012, was the latest edition of a biennial international scientific conference for the racing industry. ICRAV provides a platform for senior laboratory management, research scientists from racing laboratories and regulatory veterinarians of the world's racing bodies to address scientific issues facing the racing industry, thus ensuring the dissemination of ideas vital to maintaining the integrity of racing.

Dr Wan is the first ethnic Chinese to receive the AORC Award, a career achievement award for making exceptional contributions to assist the science and practice of racing chemistry. The award, not given on a regular basis, honoured Dr Wan for his multitude of contributions in the Advisory Council on Equine Prohibited Substances and Practices of the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA) since 1999; his role as Convenor of a working group that completed, in 2009, a major revision of  ILAC-G7, Accreditation Requirements and Operating Criteria for Horseracing Laboratories, produced by the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC); his leadership in the ground breaking research conducted at the Club’s laboratory; as well as his tireless efforts to enhance the integrity of the racing industry.

Dr Wong delivered a presentation on a new and convenient method to identify drug metabolism using homogenised liver tissue (previous in-vitro studies require the tedious and time-consuming isolation of liver cell constituents). Her results and method presented, which are already applied regularly in the Club’s laboratory, are highly relevant to the international racing community and were well received by the conference participants. Dr Wong’s Young Scientist Award was given specifically for her poster presentation, and included a grant to support another young scientist from the Club to attend the next ICRAV. She is the third Club racing chemist to receive this award -- Dr Emmie Ho and Gary Leung received the award in 2010 and 2004 respectively.  Dr Wong’s winning also made the Club the only organisation to date to have received this award three times.

“These prestigious awards are a tribute to the world-class status of the Club and the talented people within our organisation,” said The Club’s Executive Director of Racing William A. Nader. “The dedication to excellence and well regarded reputation of the Club's Racing Laboratory and its Racing Chemists is widely recognised throughout the world. The awards further reinforce our reputation as a world leader and our commitment to protect the integrity of the sport.”