New director appointed to head UF racing laboratory

Richard A. Sams, Ph.D., has been named director of the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine Racing Laboratory.

Sams came to UF from The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine, where he was a professor and the director of its Analytical Toxicology Laboratory, a position he held since 1978. Sams received his bachelor of science degree in pharmacy and a Ph.D. in pharmaceutics and pharmacokinetics from OSU.

The laboratory supports the state Division of Pari-mutuel Wagering's regulation of Florida's racing industry by ensuring that racehorses and greyhounds that win at the racetrack are not affected by prohibited drugs. In 2005ᆚ, the laboratory received and processed some 85,844 samples, which resulted in 533,958 analyses.

The laboratory is one of only a handful of laboratories in the United States to be accredited according to international standards.