Falconry is an important tradition in the United Arab Emirates and falcon racing is a prominent sport in the UAE and elsewhere. Flat racing is typically conducted as time trials over a 400 m course with times for individual competitors measured to the hundredth of a second by lasers positioned at the start and finish lines. Average speeds over the distance in excess of 80 km/h (50 mph) are common. Hunt racing involves the timed pursuit and capture of a piloted robotic drone, known as a roprey, in a climb and stoop pattern. Flight times for this event are in the order of 2-4 min. Gyrfalcons and peregrine falcons are the favoured species for racing but other falcon species, as well as hybrids, are also used.
With large prize pools and great prestige available to winners, protecting the integrity of UAE falcon racing is an important priority. To this end, a broad-based screening method for falcon faecal samples has been developed around a QuEChERS (Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, Safe) extraction followed by targeted LCMS analysis in SRM mode. Suspicious samples are confirmed using the same extraction with an optimised LCMS analysis. The approach has proven successful with multiple positives reported. Regularly detected drug classes include growth promoters, vasodilators, stimulants and painkillers.