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. __ — . , New Mechanical Detective7 in Bow Delaware Park to Employ Latest Scientific Chemical Instrument at Coming Meet STANTON Del., May 8.— Scientific machine-age methods have played a big part in giving thoroughbred racing the reputation of "best regulated sport," which includes putting the crusher on the stimulation of horses. A fine example of such progress is afforded in the latest instrument being employed in the safeguard of racing and its public at Delaware Park, where a 32-day meeting opens on May 29. An interesting description of this newest "mechanical detective" — verily, a scientific sleuth — comes from Dalare Associates of Philadelphia, whose business is bacteriological and chemical research. Dalare Associates, chemists or the Delaware Racing Commission, Delaware Harness Racing Commission and New Jersey Racing Commission, claims it is "the first of the 20 U. S. official racing chemists laboratories to employ this advanced spectrochemical instrumentation." Expounding on the subject. Dalare provides the following: "Official racing chemists who analyze the saliva and urine from each winning race horse can spot a stimulated one within hours after a race. One of the keys in the chemists detective work has for years been the DU spectrophotometer, which probes samples with ultraviolet light. Accurate though the DU is, it takes time to make the 800 manual spectro-photometric measurements each day for each race trace. Speeds Up Operation "Now, automatic recording has entered the field to speed up the chemical detection. At Dalare Associates in Philadelphia. a DK-2 recording spectrophotometer has taken over most of the time-consuming manual work. Formerly, Dalare chemists worked in two-man teams, taking 40 separate readings on each sample. Samples had to be processed in 24 hours for saliva. 40 for urine. With the large number of samples taken at tracks each day during the racing season, Dalare chemists were kept on the go. "Today, Dalare s automatic spectrophotometer does the work. It draws the entii ultraviolet curve in minutes, giving chemists a recorded trace which is easy to intercept. Abnormal ones stand out from normal samples because the trace is completely different. "When the spectrophotometer shows a stimulated or abnormal sample, Dalare chemists must have two additional confirmatory tests, both of which must also be characteristic of the same drug before stimulation is proved. Old-time horse stimulators used heroine or morphine. Nowadays, chemists must spot many other compounds, like caffeine, procaine and amphetamine."
