Month: February 2023

The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission voted to reclassify levamisole as a Class B drug during its regular meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 21, reports the Daily Racing Form. The Equine Drug Research Council recommended the reclassification three weeks ago.

The DRF report explained how KHRC equine medical director Dr. Bruce Howard clarified that a new research study completed in 2022 provided guidance on how long it takes for levamisole to clear a horse's system when used as a deworming agent.

Levamisole was the subject of five vacated KHRC rulings against trainer Joe Sharp in 2022. Sharp used an FDA-approved deworming product designed for cattle, sheep, and goats on his horses, after which five of them tested positive for levamisole in November of 2019.

The rulings on those positives, issued in 2021, stated that levamisole was a Class B drug, even though the KHRC had voted in 2015 to declassify levamisole. The 2015 declassification decision was made after detangling the association between levamisole and another drug called aminorex. Aminorex is a stimulant which has the potential for performance enhancement and was the primary substance of concern, commissioners concluded. Initially it had been unclear whether one was a sign that the other had been administered, but it's now generally accepted that levamisole can metabolize into aminorex, and not the other way around.

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In the midst of recovery from Cyclone Gabrielle, Hawke's Bay Racing is showing that they are much more than an organization for racing horses.

Since the cyclone devastated the Hawke's Bay region in New Zealand a week ago, Hastings Racecourse has become an important center for the community, helping people and animals recover, and providing a base to help clean-up efforts.

Hastings was due to hold a race meeting on Sunday, Feb. 19, but decided once the decision was made to abandon that day that the focus should be on helping the community.

“It wouldn't really have been the right thing to do to be running a race meeting while everyone's attention is on trying to respond and help each other in the community,” Hawke's Bay Racing chief executive Aaron Hamilton said.

“Once we had the abandonment, we turned our focus to the support and response, to play our part for Hawke's Bay, to make sure we're getting utilized and not sitting idle.

“Whilst we're doing a great thing for the human side and the animals, we're also doing our bit for the community here as well. We're showing that racecourses do more than just hold racing. We're a massive community asset and we're here to support this response however we can.”

Hastings Racecourse came out relatively unscathed from Gabrielle, barring a few leaks. The first task was to help displaced people who were without power and food, serving some meals and offering showers and wireless internet for locals.

As power has been gradually restored, the focus has been on other activities. A clothing distribution center has been set up, as has an animal shelter.

“There's been quite a bit of traction, especially around the animal shelter, which has taken off quite massively,” Hamilton said.

“We're getting dogs, cats, pigeons, goldfish – you name it, we've got it here really.”

With most people in rural communities helping each other out with livestock accommodation, it's been mainly urban residents who have been benefiting from the shelter.

“We've got animals coming in from people who've had their houses red-stickered. They have got to find temporary accommodation somewhere, so they might be put in a shelter for people that don't accept pets.

“In those cases, they've been able to accommodate their pets here while they're in temporary accommodation, and when they're ready to move, they'll be reunited with their pets again.”

In addition, the animal shelter has been getting animals that have become separated from their owners during the floods.

“We've had dogs found on the side of the road covered in mud, and they have been brought to the shelter, cleaned up and housed, and the shelter will then try to find their owners.

“For most of the animals the owners have fortunately been found, but we were on media this morning saying we're trying to find the owners of five goldfish, so if anyone's lost five goldfish, we might have them.”

The racecourse also received a large refrigerator in the past day to store dog food which has been helicoptered out to people unable to get in to the racecourse.

In addition, the Defense Force has set itself up at the track as a base as it gets ready to help with the clean-up.

Hastings is next due to host a race day on Wednesday March 1, where the Gr.2 Little Avondale Stud Lowland Stakes (2100m) is due to be held.

Hamilton said there should not be any difficulties in staging that race meeting barring something unexpected, and they were looking at ways to make it an event to help bring residents together.

“We want to make sure that one of the benefits is to have something for our trainers to look forward to. They're still working their horses and it gives them an opportunity to race, and it gives an opportunity for the community to come together as well,” he said.

“It's not really the right time to be selling hospitality packages. It's more about the community and we want to make sure that the race meeting is community focused.”

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