Kentucky racing officials have agreed to a contract with a British company to establish a major lab in the state that would conduct drug testing for its horse races, including the Kentucky Derby.

The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission voted unanimously Tuesday to agree to the contract with HFL Sport Science. The company is part of Quotient Bioresearch, one of the world's top drug surveillance laboratories for both human and equine sports.

Kentucky now sends samples to a lab at the University of Florida for testing. The panel agreed Tuesday to extend that contract through January 2011 until the new lab begins.

According to the racing commission, the shift to an in-state lab would save racetracks around 20 percent of their drug testing expenses.