Prior to the announcement by GREYHOUNDS Australasia relevant to Cobalt levels in urine samples obtained from greyhounds, Alpha Canis made contact with Greyhound Racing NSW Chief Steward and was pleased with the open discussion on the subject and believe this is fully reflected in the correspondence available from various racing control boards.

The information made available by GREYHOUNDS Australasia titled “Additional information for trainers – Cobalt use in greyhounds” published Friday 28 August 2015 should be read as a whole and no parts taken separately. They have set the maximum level of Cobalt at 100ng/mL of urine “to allow for a robust margin of safety with normal amounts of cobalt supplementation through routine nutritional sources.”

TRACK & TRAIN is formulated to meet the daily nutrient recommendations established by AAFCO for athlete dogs, not to grossly exceed those levels. Alpha Canis has met the recommended nutrient levels by using only ingredients of the highest possible quality, especially the added vitamins and trace minerals. Our formulation has allowed the addition of cobalt at 0.203 mg/kg and vitamin B12 at 0.030mg/kg, to complement cobalt naturally found in animal protein sources such as beef, lamb, chicken and fish and to a lesser amount in vegetable protein sources such as grains and pulses.

We hope this clears up some of your concerns.

Peter Brown