California now has some of the strictest rules regarding medication in racehorses of any jurisdiction in the United States, and a report on medication violations for April and May show that horsemen and veterinarians are still working to understand newer regulations.
At a meeting of the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) conducted via teleconference last week, CHRB equine medical director Dr. Rick Arthur reported that April saw nine medication violations, only one of which was in a post-race sample, while there were six medication violations in May, two of which were in post-race samples.
Three of April's nine violations were from horses working before the state veterinarian, and the other five were out-of-competition samples taken on horses recording workouts.
“Of the nine violations in April, six would not have been violations in other states,” said Arthur. “I suspect two others would not be violations in most states.”
Four of May's six positives were horses working for the official veterinarian. Arthur guessed only one of the six would be a violation outside of California.
In mid-March, new regulations placed restrictions on the use of “local anesthetics, narcotic analgesics and non-steroidal anti-inflammatories” on horses within 24 hours of a timed workout, and prohibiting more than one NSAID in a post-work sample. In late February, regulations went into effect prohibiting NSAIDs within 24 hours of post time.
“To my knowledge, California is the only state currently regulating these medications during training,” said Arthur. “I'm usually not sympathetic to trainers and veterinarians not paying attention to our rule changes, but we have made numerous regulatory changes recently and from discussions with trainers and veterinarians, the new rule is not as clear to licensees as I would have hoped or expected. Trainers and veterinarians appear confused between house rules and CHRB regulations.
“The most difficult change has been the new medication regulations during training. Keep in mind, regulating medication during training is a new concept in racing.”
Arthur said he is working with California Thoroughbred Trainers to guide a series of webinars aimed at educating trainers and veterinarians on the new rules. And not a moment too soon — as he pointed out, several more veterinary regulations are set to go into effect July 1, including the transfer of a health record for claimed horses and a prohibition on bisphosphonates.
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