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New Equine Anti-Doping And Medication Control Initiative Launched By BHA And IHRB

A new equine anti-doping and medication control initiative was announced by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) and the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) on Thursday. The initiative underpins their commitment to the regulation of medicine use and zero tolerance of doping in horse racing on both sides of the Irish Sea.

The IHRB and BHA are now formally conducting joint out-of-competition-testing operations across both jurisdictions. These inspections started this week with almost 250 samples taken from more than 120 horses that are entered for the upcoming Cheltenham Festival in an operation across 14 training premises in Ireland over the last two days.

In Ireland, the organisations will work together and operate under IHRB Standard Operating Procedures, and all samples will be considered as IHRB samples. BHA protocols will be in effect when the BHA and IHRB are working together in the UK, and they will be under BHA jurisdiction. In both instances, there will be transparent exchange of any adverse results or screening findings that arise from these tests, with all samples being tested by LGC Laboratory, one of six laboratories worldwide which is recognised as a referenced laboratory by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA).

Dr Lynn Hillyer, chief veterinary officer for the IHRB, said, “The IHRB Strategy 2024-2027 commits us to close engagement with international horseracing bodies and benchmarking ourselves against best international practice. This new venture shows stakeholders and the racing public that we collaborate as professionals across both sides of the Irish Sea, sharing best practice and resources and demonstrating equally stringent regulatory processes and standards to the extent that our anti-doping and medication control programmes are interoperable.”

James Given, director of Equine Regulation, Safety and Welfare, said, “Not only will our Medication Control and Anti-Doping (MCAD) team have access to more information about visiting horses, but there will be opportunities for our wider team to share ideas and best practice in other areas of our work.”

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THA: What You Need To Know About New HISA Drug Sanctions

With the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit's (HIWU) first pending rulings for medication and anti-doping related violations having just been made public, the Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association (THA) issued a reminder Thursday of the possible sanctions under this new federal framework.

As the THA points out, taken as a whole the penalty scheme under the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) is significantly more stringent than that imposed previously by state commissions.

These new sanctions pertain to medication positives and other anti-doping related infractions that come after May 22, when HIWU's Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) program went into effect.

Two of the pending final rulings issued on HIWU's website concern the possible possession of banned substances–namely the thyroid medication Levothyroxine. The other concerns the possible presence of cobalt, another banned substance, in a test.

The trainer facing possible sanctions for an alleged cobalt positive is Mario Dominguez. The horse in question is Petulant Delight. According to HIWU, the date of the alleged violation is May 24, the same day Petulant Delight won a claiming race at Parx Racing. HIWU provides no other details on the circumstances behind the alleged violation.

As the THA points out, all Anti-Doping violations “which include the Presence of, Use or Attempted Use of, Possession of, or Administration or Attempted Administration of a Banned Substance” carry a potential two-year suspension and a fine of up to $25,000.

Click here for a list of “Banned Substances” under the ADMC Program.

Provisional suspensions for these violations are imposed immediately and can only be lifted through a provisional hearing.

When it comes to the “Use or Attempted Use or Administration or Attempted Administration of a Controlled Medication Method”–like milk-shaking–the possible penalties are as follows:

1st Offense, 60 days, up to $5,000 fine or 5% of the purse, loss of purse

2nd Offense within a 2-year period, 90 days, up to $10,000 fine or 10% of the purse, loss of purse

3rd Offense within a 2-year period, 120 days, up to $25,000 or 25% of the purse, loss of purse

All “Controlled Medication Violations” result in the loss of the purse. Class A and Class B violations result in a suspension for a first offense, and more than one Class C offense in a two-year period will also result in a suspension.

Click here for a list of Controlled Therapeutic Medications.

The possible penalties for Controlled Medication violations are as follows:

Class C

1st Offense, up to $500 fine, loss of purse

2nd Offense within a 2-year period, 15 days, up to $1,000 fine, loss of purse

3rd Offense within a 2-year period, 30 days, up to $2,500 fine, loss of purse

Class B

1st Offense, 15 days, up to $1,000 fine, loss of purse

2nd Offense within a 2-year period, 30 days, up to $2,500 fine, loss of purse

3rd Offense within a 2-year period, 60 days, up to $5,000 fine, loss of purse

Class A

1st Offense, 60 days, up to $5,000 fine or 5% of purse, loss of purse

2nd Offense within a 2-year period, 90 days, up to $10,000 fine or 10% of purse, loss of purse

3rd Offense within a 2-year period, 120 days, up to $25,000 fine or 25% of purse, loss of purse

According to the THA, HIWU chief of science, Mary Scollay, advises trainers to give the barn, tack room and feed room a regular thorough cleaning. Ensure that all medications are properly labeled and stored, and remove any banned substances or expired medications from the premises.

Contact Scollay if you have a question about any supplements you may be using. You can text her a photo of the label to (859) 489-7677 to help determine if it is considered a banned substance.

Click here for more information about dietary supplements.

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HISA’S ADMC Program To Take Effect May 22

Following a launch March 27, the Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit (HIWU) plans to resume enforcement of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority's (HISA) Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Program May 22. The program seeks to implement the following:

Transparency: The ADMC Program requires public disclosure of alleged Anti-Doping Rule Violations once the Covered Person has been notified of the violation and Provisionally Suspended. The alleged violation will be reported by HIWU on its website, and the public information disclosed will include the date of the collection, the name of the Covered Person, the identity of the Covered Horse, the alleged ADMC Program Rule Violation, and the Prohibited Substance or Method detected/involved. Alleged Controlled Medication Rule Violations will be publicly disclosed once the B (“split”) Sample is confirmed by another lab or analysis of the Sample is waived by the Covered Person. In short, it will take weeks, not months, for an alleged violation to come to light.

Efficiency: The ADMC Program articulates specific timelines for the results management and adjudication processes, and parties can request an expedited hearing to resolve the eligibility of a Covered Person or Covered Horse prior to an upcoming race. Hearings of Anti-Doping Rule Violations will be held within 60 days of being requested, absent exceptional circumstances. Controlled Medication Rule Violations will generally be adjudicated in a few months. In summary, cases will not drag on for years.

Consistency and Fairness: In addition to samples being tested to the same levels and standards regardless of which laboratory performs the analysis, all alleged violations will be subject to the same penalties regardless of jurisdiction. Cases will be adjudicated by members of an independent Arbitral Body (Anti-Doping Rule Violations) or the Internal Adjudication Panel (Controlled Medication Rule Violations). For all cases, adjudicators will be selected so as to be free from conflict of interest, thus addressing any integrity concerns in the prosecution of cases.

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HIWU Set to Administer HISA Anti-Doping and Medication Control Program

Edited Press Release

The Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit (HIWU), the independent enforcement agency of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority's (HISA) Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Program, has reached arrangements with all state racing commissions and/or racetracks that will be conducting live racing on or soon after the implementation of the ADMC Program, which is anticipated to be Monday, Mar. 27, 2023. The laboratories that will be conducting testing under the Program have also been confirmed.

“HIWU appreciates the opportunity to engage with state racing commissions, racetracks, and laboratories in the implementation of a national, uniform ADMC program,” said Ben Mosier, executive director of HIWU. “We are confident that all our arrangements will facilitate uniform compliance with the ADMC Program to ensure its consistency and effectiveness.”

Once the ADMC Program takes effect, the following states and/or racetracks will continue to provide sample collection personnel services by utilizing their current staff, who will have been trained and certified by HIWU. Voluntary agreements have either been signed or will be signed before the first day of racing under the new ADMC Rules with the following entities:

Arkansas Racing Commission
California Horse Racing Board
Florida Gaming Control Commission, in cooperation with Gulfstream Park and Tampa Bay Downs
Kentucky Horse Racing Commission
Maryland Racing Commission
New York Racing Association (except Post-Race testing)
Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission
Will Rogers Downs

For the following states and/or racetracks, HIWU has either contracted directly with existing personnel or has hired its own sample collection personnel to implement the ADMC Program. There is therefore no signed voluntary agreement with the following entities:

Arizona Department of Gaming (Division of Racing)
Finger Lakes
Illinois Racing Board
New York Gaming Commission (Post-Race testing only)
Ohio State Racing Commission

HIWU is also engaging with state racing commissions and racetracks that are racing after mid-April and will announce those relationships prior to such time.

Laboratories must be accredited by the Racing Medication & Testing Consortium to be eligible to conduct testing as part of HISA's ADMC Program, and must meet additional criteria determined by HIWU. HIWU has entered into contracts with the following laboratories to analyze samples collected under the ADMC Program:

Analytical Toxicology Laboratory (Ohio Department of Agriculture)
Animal Forensic Toxicology Laboratory (University of Illinois-Chicago)
Industrial Laboratories
Kenneth L. Maddy Equine Analytical Chemistry Laboratory (University of California, Davis)
Pennsylvania Equine Toxicology and Research Laboratory
University of Kentucky Equine Analytical Chemistry Laboratory

“For the first time, racing's labs will be harmonized and held to the same performance standards nationwide,” said Mosier. “Thoroughbred racehorses will be tested for the same substances at the same levels, regardless of where they are located or compete.”

Lab accreditation will eventually transition to the HISA Equine Analytical Laboratory standards, which will not take effect before 2024.

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