Thanks guys for the props.
With respect to racing at Velo Sports Center and certification, it is actually pretty easy. I share a locker with the certification instructor and my wife and I did our class in 2010. The reason we did the class in Carson was to prepare for the upcoming Masters Track Nationals in Frisco, TX which was a 250 meter track with 45 degree banking. The track at Frisco has been taken down but at the time it was painted plywood over a metal sub structure. The surface was grippy but many crashed due to pedal strike issues where they rode too slow on the banking and were not perpendicular to the track. Frisco was a fun track to race on and I was glad I did the class at Carson.
If you are an experienced track racer, the certification class at Carson is 2 hours long. It entails learning the rules at the track and then practice with the instructor with the hardest part being riding to the top of the track near the rail 34 feet above the floor below. The visual impact takes getting used to. Each level of the track requires more speed to keep from slipping so the general rule of thumb for rookies is 18 mph to get on the track, 20 mph at the relief line and 22 mph at the rail. With experience, the speeds may be much less but it is a good bench mark to start with.
I do not know what accommodations VSC made for out of town riders and practice / certification, if any.
With respect to drug testing, I have paid out of pocket serval times for drug testing for my wife and her various world records. It is about $400 to 500. At Masters Worlds that previous two years, there was extensive drug testing for winners and world records and they may have tested others. My wife was tested.
If USADA is present at a race it is the racers responsibility to show up for drug testing if USADA requires it. Generally, they set up a board and post who they want to test and they have volunteers to shadow racers after they finish their race until they are tested.
USADA was present at both Masters Track and Road Nationals but I did not see any activity such as posting names or looking for racers to test. If one sets a WR, then one has to seek out USADA and get tested if one wants the record to count. At both racers, I did not see where USADA had set up and asked USAC where we were to report for testing. They may have tested some racers but I did not see any and they did not test my wife when she won.
The other aspect of testing is that it takes a lot of staff and a long time. When my wife set the WR two years ago at Worlds, the USADA official told a volunteer, "do not let her out of your sight". Then one has to go with the volunteer and go through an interview and disclose everything one takes. My wife has a complete list with pictures on her iPhone for reference if they ask. Then one has to pee. And it can take a long time for athletes to pee. It can take hours. It all depends on the level of dehydration, nerves, having someone watch you pee and etc. That may be TMI, but it is indicative of the administration issues that staff and racers must contend with.
And there is more...In Mexico, when my wife set her first WR, she met with the USADA doc the day before. He happened to be at the Velodrome. He gave her instructions on eating and hydration to make sure that her urine had the right concentration. There was something about specific gravity and hydration that can muck up the tests.
So there is more to testing than just cost. IMO, it is very pro and one needs experience that includes compliance with the rules and know-how to facilitate smooth testing after the race.
One could say, why not collect urine samples from all the racers at an event and then randomly select or test whomever. This would certainly keep all the racers on edge and maybe motivate more compliance. However, it is still time consuming and there has to be protocols followed such as the special sample bottles for the A and B sample and the monitoring of racers after events and the interview process and peeing in a cup. It is a total hassle.