Scollay named to top position at RMTC

Posted: July 2, 2019

Dr. Mary Scollay, the longtime Equine Medical Director for the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, has been named Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium, the organization announced July 2.

In her new role, which she assumes Aug. 5, Scollay will be charged with the advancement of world-class laboratory drug-testing standards, promotion of RMTC-recommended rules and penalties for prohibited substances and therapeutic medications, monitoring of emerging threats to the integrity of racing and the health and welfare of racehorses, and administrative oversight of RMTC-funded research projects and educational programs.

An RMTC search committee selected Scollay based on her extensive knowledge and experience in the medical treatment of racehorses, the management of pre- and post-race drug testing, research into emerging threats to the integrity of horse racing and the regulation of horse racing in general.

“We are very pleased to have Dr. Scollay on board,” RMTC Chair Alex Waldrop said. “She has been working with the RMTC for years now, and that will enable her to hit the ground running in this new capacity, at a pivotal time for the RMTC and the entire horseracing industry.”

Along with her KHRC duties, Scollay has been an adjunct faculty member at the University of Kentucky. For more than a decade at the KHRC, she consulted with the state commission on matters related to equine health, safety and welfare, directed regulatory veterinary activities at Kentucky racetracks, acted as the liaison to the official drug-testing laboratory for all aspects of anti-doping and medication regulation programs, provided stakeholder education and expert testimony, conducted investigations and equine mortality reviews, and collaborated with racing regulators and other stakeholders domestically and internationally.

Prior to that, Scollay spent numerous years as the Senior Association Veterinarian for Calder Race Course and Gulfstream Park, as well as an adjunct faculty member for the Miami-Dade College Department of Veterinary Technology.

Scollay has represented the Kentucky Equine Drug Research Council on the RMTC board of directors and Scientific Advisory Committee since 2013. She also participated on the Horseracing Testing Laboratories Committee and chaired the SAC Communications Committee, where she assisted in the development of educational materials on test-barn chain of custody and procedures, responsibly managing a horse’s environment, the 95/95 tolerance interval, and threshold and withdrawal guidelines for controlled therapeutic substances.

Scollay has been involved in equine health, welfare and safety initiatives across the industry. She was appointed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo as a member of the New York Task Force on Racehorse Health and Safety in 2012, worked as a veterinary consultant for The Jockey Club Equine Injury Database, served as a board member of the Racing Surfaces Testing Laboratory, and participated on committees such as the American Association of Equine Practitioners Racing Committee and Professional Conduct and Ethics Committee, Grayson-Jockey Club Welfare and Safety Summit Steering Committee, European Horse Racing Scientific Liaison Committee, and National Thoroughbred Racing Association Safety and Integrity Alliance Code of Standards Committee.

(Photo of Dr. Mary Scollay courtesy of RMTC)