drug testing | Horse Racing Free Tips

Open Letter to the Industry: Lisa Lazarus on Contamination

Like many of you, I read Rusty Arnold's open letter about his positive test with interest, and carefully considered the concerns that he identified. Also, like many of you, I am privileged to personally know, and respect Rusty, so I do not take his criticisms lightly. Rusty identified some of the challenges inherent in administering an equine anti-doping and medication control (“ADMC”) program that is efficient, effective, and fair. However, it is important to note that those same challenges existed long before HISA and HIWU came onto the scene. In fact, there is no difference whatsoever between the prohibition of, and the testing for, Tramadol (the substance found in Rusty's horse) pre- and post-HISA, nor for the application of the trainer responsibility rule. There is a difference in the sanction, however, which is less severe under HISA. But more importantly, HISA is doing, and will continue to do, whatever it takes to help make our ADMC Program as effective and fair as it can be.

Let me start by laying out the relevant history of Tramadol, an opioid analgesic, in horseracing. Tramadol has always been a prohibited substance under ARCI rules; it was originally a Class A penalty and was changed to Class B in March 2016. In fact, Carol Cobb, a Kentucky trainer, was ordered to serve a 180-day suspension in 2021 for Tramadol (the violation arose prior to March 2016.) Every international racing jurisdiction bans Tramadol. Under FEI rules (sport horses), Tramadol is classified as a doping–not medication–substance, and a positive test yields a presumptive two-year ban. Under HISA, Tramadol is a Class B violation because HISA's ADMC Committee recognized that there are legitimate indications for the use of Tramadol in a horse outside of a race. A Tramadol positive now comes with a 15-day suspension, which can be reduced to seven days if the trainer accepts the consequences without a legal challenge (which is what Rusty opted to do in this case). HIWU testing specifications for Tramadol are consistent with TOBA's Graded Stakes testing which were in place prior to the implementation of the HISA ADMC Program. Kentucky samples were previously tested to the TOBA standards, as the KHRC did not distinguish between stakes and non-stakes races when testing for Tramadol. So, put simply, nothing has changed regarding the treatment of Tramadol in Kentucky, except that HISA has a more lenient sanction than previously applicable to Kentucky trainers.

One of two things is true for any substance: it either has a legitimate, medically justified use in Thoroughbreds and is permitted to be administered properly–or it doesn't, regardless of whether it's been proven to enhance performance. If a substance has no legitimate therapeutic use, then as an industry we need to ensure these substances are not permitted in a horse's system–whether intentionally or unintentionally. In addition, while horsemen's fears are understandable, in truth the risk of “contamination” causing a positive test is exceedingly low. Nonetheless, HISA firmly believes that maintaining a backstretch free of contamination is a responsibility that must be shared amongst all racing stakeholders, and not fall exclusively on horsemen's shoulders.

So, what are HISA and HIWU currently doing to help protect horsemen from the risk of contamination?

The Atypical Findings Policy: This program applies to environmental contaminants (e.g., ractopamine, caffeine) and hormones that the horse can produce on its own (e.g., testosterone). The full list of Atypical Findings substances can be found here. HISA Anti-Doping and Medication Control Program Atypical Findings Policy – HIWU. If any of those substances are detected in a horse's sample, HIWU recognizes that they may likely be the result of contamination, and an investigation is initiated to determine the likely source or cause of the positive test. If HIWU is satisfied that the likely source of the positive was contamination, the trainer is never charged with a violation, and it is never made public. Since HIWU took over testing nine months ago, there have been 35 positive tests suspected of being environmental contamination and only two have been pursued as violations. The public has not heard of these positive tests, because they are disposed of confidentially; in short, it's a successful program.

Inadvertent Transfer of Human Drugs of Abuse: This is a modification that HISA made in response to a request from the Horsemen's Advisory Group. This separate protocol applies to a list of substances including cocaine, marijuana, methamphetamine, and oxycodone, and is included in the revised rules sent to the Federal Trade Commission.[1] If any of those drugs are detected in a horse's sample, the expectation is that it is likely inadvertent human transfer, and, assuming that the new rules are approved, the ineligibility period will be capped at 60 days (unless of course there are concerns, based upon the available evidence, that the drug may have been intentionally administered.). While HISA awaits the approval of the new rules, HIWU is putting any cases that would result in a shorter ineligibility period under the new rules on hold so that horsemen who have such cases now will be able to benefit from the proposed rule change if it is approved.

All Track Accreditation Visits Now include Cleanliness and Protocol Reviews related to Receiving Barns: Beginning in 2024, once HISA became alerted to Horsemen's concerns, these receiving barn reviews were added as a mandatory requirement at all HISA track accreditation visits.

What are HISA and HIWU planning to do to further protect Horsemen from the risk of contamination?

Random Use of Mobile Drug Test Pouches: Prior to Rusty Arnold's letter, HISA had purchased a significant number of Mobile Drug Test Pouches and is engaging in discussions with HISA's Racetrack Accreditation team and HIWU on how these tests might be deployed under a protocol that would further assist HISA in reducing contamination risk from the backside.

Daily Monitoring by HIWU Investigators: Also previously planned, HIWU investigators stationed at racetracks will employ a daily “to do” list each morning beginning on March 14, which will include the monitoring of common areas for horses, such as receiving barns, for cleanliness.

Continually Review Testing Levels to Address Contamination Issues: As an integral part of HISA's Laboratory Harmonization Initiative, the laboratories continually review testing levels for harmonization, contamination risk, and to ensure consistency with the goals of the ADMC Program.

What can horsemen do to help?

If you See Something, Say Something: As an industry, we are all in this together. We need to know when horsemen observe contamination risks at racetracks if we are to be effective. Please email HISA at keepitclean@hisaus.org with any photos or concerns and we will follow them up immediately. We will keep the source of all such communications strictly confidential.

Maintain a Strict Policy against Urination in the Stables: We understand that trainers cannot be everywhere and see everything. But your employees should know that urinating in the stalls is prohibited and, if they do, there will be serious consequences. To be most effective, this should come with reminders to employees to apply hygienic practices, especially handwashing.

If You Can Afford Them and the Racetrack does not Provide Them, Install Webcams in Your Barns: HISA encourages the installation of cameras whenever and wherever possible for an additional layer of risk protection. HISA will be working to promote more widespread use of cameras at racetracks.

Use Best Efforts to Avoid Hiring Drug Users in Your Barn: We understand that this may not be obvious when you hire someone, but you should at least have a policy in your stables of avoiding the knowing hiring or retention of drug users.

In sum, HISA and HIWU are fully committed to a fair and effective ADMC program that minimizes the risk of holding anyone without fault accountable for an anti-doping or controlled medication rule violation. If everyone does their part as listed above, we believe that goal is attainable. The HISA ADMC Program will always prioritize the inherent integrity of the program by treating everyone, no matter their stature, the same. We will never allow personal views, or the reputation of any individual racing participant, to supplant what the laboratory reports or related science dictates. (In fact, the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act prohibits HISA/HIWU from taking any trainer's pre-HISA history–good or bad–into account.) Having the regulator decide who are the “good” guys and who are the “bad” guys, would completely undermine the integrity of any program, and make HISA's mandate entirely futile.

We hope by outlining our program and explaining how trainers can contribute, you will see that we take this issue seriously. HISA and HIWU always welcome constructive industry feedback on our programs as we continue to refine processes and protocols. Feedback can be submitted directly to HISA at feedback@hisaus.org or to the Horsemen's Advisory Group here at horsemenadvisory@hisaus.org. Please don't hesitate to continue to provide feedback and suggestions of any nature, so that we can work together to reach the important goals that are in the common interest of all industry stakeholders.

[1] The full list includes the following substances: i) Cocaine/Benzoylecognine; (ii) Methamphetamine; (iii) Methaqualone; (iv) Methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA); (v) Methylenedioxyethylamphetamine (MDEA); (vi) Methylenedioxymethylamphetamine (MDMA);(vii) Oxycodone; (viii) Phencyclidine (PCP); and (ix) Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).

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Letter to the Editor: ‘Absolute Insure Rule is a Farce’

I appreciated Bill Finley's conversation with Alan Foreman on TDN Writers' Room. Your question to him about trainers who are not guilty of cheating hit home for me. As a trainer who is dealing with this same issue prior to HISA in the state of Florida, I was hoping to make a brief comment.

The banned substances provisions are more complicated than they want it to be in an era where the testing has become so fine any trainer can get a banned substance positive at any time no matter what precautions and provisions have been implemented. Nanogram results can pick up any contamination that occurs in places that the trainer cannot protect the horse from. Inadvertent touching by anyone between the morning of the race up to and in the test barn can cause a positive. Receiving barns where horses are housed prior to racing are notorious for contamination (see testing at Charles Town).

This issue of “Testing” becoming so fine was not addressed in your conversation with Mr. Foreman. He and HISA still blame the trainers. Not their protocols. The trainer still spends many thousands of dollars defending themselves from something they cannot control. The absolute insure rule is a farce in this regard. No one at HISA wants to discuss this aspect of the problem.

Sincerely,
Donald L. Brown

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ARCI Questions HISA’s Effectiveness in New Report; HISA Claims Report `Factually Inaccurate’

A staff report from the Association of Racing Commissioners International (ARCI) was issued today providing “data and a programmatic analysis HISA Programs after its first year,” with the conclusion that HISA has done little to deter the doping of racehorses or effect the catastrophic breakdown rate, according to a press release from the ARCI. HISA responded to the report, saying it was “riddled with factual inaccuracies and mischaracterizations.”

ARCI claims that after one year of being responsible for equine and racetrack safety in thoroughbred racing and six months responsibility for anti-doping and medication control, that HISA's “biggest success lies in common rules and drug testing.” Moreover, they claim, “HISA/HIWU Testing Labs have not found any new drugs that had not been found under the previous state based programs,” and “based on HIWU statements as to the extent of testing and HIWU website postings, it appears the rate of adverse analytical findings triggering regulatory review or action is roughly the same as the previous state-based program.”

The ARCI went so far as to say that, “the equine fatality rate remains small and results are mixed as to whether HISA has had any effect, either way.”

“HISA has just been made aware of the Association of Racing Commissioner International (ARCI) report released publicly today,” said a HISA spokesperson. “The report is riddled with factual inaccuracies and mischaracterizations as evidenced by data and information that is publicly available on the HIWU website. HISA remains focused on enforcing and improving upon its Racetrack Safety and Anti-Doping and Medication Control Programs to advance safety and integrity in the sport.”

ARCI said that the prepared the report in anticipation of being asked for it by state racing commissions. They also said that “HISA receives considerable help from State Racing Commissions who are expected to provide almost $18 million in funding or services in the coming year, and that “HISA's almost $81 million proposed budget for next year relies on the thoroughbred racing industry paying almost $60 million in assessments.”

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Horse Sales And HISA, The Overlap

With the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Integrity Act's (HISA) anti-doping and medication control program set for launch Monday–pending approval by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)–the inevitable focus will be on the spider web of post-race and out-of-competition testing set to blanket most of the nation.

But with it has come this other question: What do buyers now need to be aware of when purchasing a horse at the sales or privately?

The question has gained added currency since a recent the Southern California horsemen by representatives from the Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit (HIWU), the arm of HISA charged with rolling-out and managing its anti-doping and medication control (ADMC) program.

At that presentation, Mary Scollay, HIWU's chief of science, explained that under the new medication regime, bisphosophonates–a controversial group of drugs used in older horses to tackle issues like navicular disease but also used in younger horses to treat things like sore shins–will be banned from administration in what HISA terms “covered horses.”

(It should be noted that a Thoroughbred becomes a “covered horse” only when it completes its first officially timed and published workout)

“My last two weeks has pretty much been a deep dive into bisphosphonates and how to navigate this stuff,” said Joe Miller, a racing manager and bloodstock advisor, who leans heavily on Europe when scouting for new talent destined for the U.S.

“I actually skipped going to the OBS March sale because I'm so focused on how we're going to be moving forward in navigating these purchases,” Miller added.

For all sorts of reasons, bisphosphonates pose a slippery set of problems for regulators and horsemen alike. Once administered, they can stay in a horse's system for years. Horses given a bisphosphonate won't necessarily test positive for the drug consistently over time either, with a positive finding more likely during periods of bone remodeling, which would release the drug into the horse's system.

Punitive consequences for a positive bisphosphonate finding can be steep. A trainer faces a possible two-year suspension for a first-time bisphosphonate violation, while the horse could be subject to lifetime ineligibility from competition.

Joe Miller | Tattersalls

HIWU published a notice to the industry on March 10 regarding the use of bisphosphonates under the ADMC program, explaining how only proven administration of a bisphosphonate to a covered horse after the March 27th implementation date would be deemed an actionable violation. Furthermore, HIWU explained that it would not pursue disciplinary action for a positive bisphosphonate finding against a covered horse and its connections, provided those connections can share with HIWU documentation–such as medical records or a positive test result–proving administration or presence of bisphosphonates prior to the ADMC program implementation date.

“In accordance with HISA's requirements for Covered Horses, all medical records, including any relevant test results, must be uploaded to the HISA portal. Additionally, due to the variability of bisphosphonate detection through laboratory analysis, all bisphosphonate findings detected under the ADMC Program will undergo thorough review regardless of the alleged timing of administration,” the notice added.

This still leaves some worrying holes for trainers and owners to potentially fall through.

A fear among buyers is that because of the longevity with which bisphosphonates can stay in the system, a recently purchased horse administered bisphosphonates prior to the ADMC launch date–and unbeknownst to the new connections–could still land them in regulatory hot water.

Furthermore, buyers like Miller are concerned about purchasing horses from international jurisdictions where bisphosphonates are still permitted.

“Since private sales are subject to individual contracts, it is up to the buyer and seller to formalize provisions for bisphosphonates testing and conditions of sale to protect all parties,” wrote Scollay, in response to a list of questions.

Miller hasn't made any international purchases since last October, he said, but he expects that to change in the next few weeks. When Miller does once again plunder foreign shores, “we can definitely do a blood screen for Osphos and Tildren,” he said, singling out two of the more commonly-used bisphosphonates. “I'm hoping we can do a urine screening as well.”

Indeed, urine samples are deemed more accurate than blood screens at detecting bisphosphonates administered longer in advance due to typically higher concentrations in urine of most substances than in the blood.

Though HIWU has stated it will conduct a thorough review in the event of a bisphosphonate positive, “If you come up with a trace amount of bisphosphonate in a post-race urine sample, how is that going to be dealt with?” asked Miller. “Is a horse going to be able to compete while the review is being conducted?”

According to HIWU spokesperson, Alexa Ravit, “HIWU will not just automatically issue a suspension for a Covered Horse or Covered Person upon receiving a positive finding for bisphosphonates.”

Fasig-Tipton is one of the major U.S. sales companies to have taken steps in recent years to limit drug use in the horses that pass through their rings, including offering bisphosphonate testing as a condition of sale for horses younger than four.

If the sale horse tests positive for bisphosphonates, a buyer has the right, within 24 hours of notification, to rescind the sale. In Fasig-Tipton's case, a bisphosphonates test costs $500.

“As with all these drug tests that have come along, it's usually because there has been a shift in the market,” said Bayne Welker, executive vice president of Fasig-Tipton. “That's usually what drives us to make these offerings.”

And as a result of HISA, “I'll probably take the limitations off of the racing age horses,” explained Welker, pointing to the condition of sale bisphosphonate test.

Indeed, Scollay stressed how “buyers should consult sales companies, as applicable, to verify the bisphosphonates testing available as well as the conditions of sale should a purchased horse test positive for bisphosphonates.”

Which leads to concerns over the use of other potentially problematic drugs, especially in horses-in-training purchases.

Major sales companies have moved in recent years to restrict the use in sales horses of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), corticosteroids and bronchodilators, including Clenbuterol. Welker explained that HISA's new ADMC program won't change what condition of sale tests Fasig-Tipton offers for these particular substances.

Perhaps the biggest concern, explained Scollay, would be if the horse has been administered a banned substance that may linger in the horse for an extended period and show up in testing conducted under HISA, with anabolic steroids singled out for concern alongside bisphosphonates.

Scollay recommends that both buyers and sellers refer to HIWU's “Banned List,” which are the substances not permitted to be in a horse at any time once it falls under HISA's jurisdiction.

According to Miller, none of the drugs listed on HIWU's banned substances list cause him particular concern. “I only buy horses off people that we trust,” he said.

Furthermore, Miller said he will continue his current practice of performing a full blood screening of a horse pre-purchase.

Dr. Mary Scollay | The Jockey Club

“We typically test for steroids, any non-steroidal anti-inflammatories,” said Miller. “We just want to make sure when we do a soundness exam on a horse, we want to make sure they haven't been given anything.”

In regards private testing, however, there is an important distinction for stakeholders moving forward.

HIWU has contracted six labs around the country to conduct its testing program:

The Ohio Department of Agriculture's Analytical Toxicology Laboratory; the Animal Forensic Toxicology Laboratory at the University of Illinois-Chicago; Industrial Laboratories in Denver, Colo.; Kenneth L. Maddy Equine Analytical Chemistry Laboratory at the University of California-Davis; Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture's Pennsylvania Equine Toxicology and Research Laboratory; and University of Kentucky Equine Analytical Chemistry Laboratory.

Trainers and owners can ask HIWU to conduct clearance testing on a horse–for a fee–provided there is a reported administration history of a particular substance. Clearance testing though HIWU will be conducted at these six labs.

But these same HIWU-affiliated labs are prohibited by contract from testing any covered racehorses from private clients, explained Jeff Blea, California Horse Racing Board equine medical director.

And does Blea have any broader advice for industry stakeholders looking to close a sale after Monday?

“Any purchase of a horse as a buyer, you should have a conversation with your veterinarian as to what your concerns are and what your risk tolerance is relative to drug testing as a condition of sale,” Blea replied.

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