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Irish Doping Rules Align With International Standards Accord to Report

A report on horseracing in Ireland found no evidence that doping regulations fall below international standards. The report, made by the Oireachtas Agriculture Committee, was prompted by allegations from trainer Jim Bolger that drugs are Irish racing's top problem. However, the report did make 11 recommendations, including that favourites and the top five finishers of each race be mandatorily tested via hair samples, as well as for random testing to occur. Another recommendation was for a review into the composition of the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB), to address concerns over a lack of independent membership and gender balance. In addition, the report recommends that the IHRB follow governance structures similar to the United States.

Agriculture Committee Chair Jackie Cahill said, “We're happy that the testing standards in Irish racing are of the highest possible international standards.

“There was a lot of comments in the media and to restore public confidence, we felt that transparency was very important. That is coming out clearly in this report.

“The IHRB, there's no question that they're doing the testing to the highest possible standards. But to meet the modern criteria that's there, I think greater transparency was needed. That's where a lot of our recommendations are coming from.”

“At no stage was there any evidence found that the testing regulations in Ireland were anything but the highest possible international standards.”

Other recommendations of the report are detailed as follws: an independent review of Irish racing should be conducted by an outside body, with a full audit of all tests previously carried out, to “ensure that Ireland's drug testing procedures match international best practices”; that CCTV be installed at all Irish racecourses; and that a system of equine traceability be created.

“For the public out there, whether it's for the betting public or the general public, to ensure that this kind of comprehensive testing will ensure that everyone is fully convinced that there can be no wrongdoing involved in horse racing in Ireland,” Cahill added on Tuesday.

“I think this recommendation would be a comprehensive testing post-race, will give the public 100% confidence that the highest standards are being employed and that there is a very comprehensive testing regime in place.

“The comments that appeared in the media did do reputational damage to the sport. There's no point in me denying that and that was the basis of why we initiated this report. I think these changes to bring transparency to the IHRB would do an awful lot in restoring that public confidence. I would hope that the minister would set about implementing our recommendations as quickly as possible.”

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Report Published on Future of British Thoroughbred Breeding

A report titled The future for British breeding and its potential impact on the British racing industry was published by the Thoroughbred Breeders' Association on Tuesday. The report details recommendations to halt the potentially catastrophic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on British racing in the medium and long term.

Some of the suggestions in the report are: capitalising on Britain's international reputation for breeding and racing, ensuring a competitive and diverse racing programme and improving the viability of the British breeding industry. In addition, the report recommends united industry action on reforming the Levy-funding system, increasing racehorse ownership and considering initiatives that have worked in other countries.

The report states in part, “Whilst in the immediate aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic the impact on racing will arise from its effect on owners, unable to support as many horses in training, and by the exodus of horses in training to France and Ireland, where prizemoney levels have been more resilient, the long-term damage is most likely to be caused by its impact on breeders.

“This could be exacerbated by changes in the ownership structure of three of the five major breeding operations, due to the loss of their founders in the early months of 2021. As a result, there will simply not be enough horses to sustain a racing programme in Britain of the scale the sport has grown used to.”

TBA Chairman Julian Richmond-Watson said, “Since the publication of the TBA Economic Impact Study of 2018, we have delivered a number of projects as part of our strategic plan to improve the environment for British breeders and the breed. It was great to see the Great British Bonus implemented in time for the return of racing in June last year to provide the much needed support to investors of British bloodstock.

“Throughout 2020 we actively monitored the situation, collecting data from various sources to assess the potential impacts on our industry. Today's report provides evidence that some of the trends first highlighted in the 2018 study have unfortunately been accelerated by the events of the last 12 months. Although the GBB scheme is showing early signs of success, it alone cannot resolve all of the industry's issues. The report provides recommendations for future recovery and we hope that our industry partners will support us for the long-term benefit of the sport, its horses and people.”

The TBA will be hosting a webinar to discuss the report in more detail on Thursday, May 27 at 10:30 a.m. local time. To register for the event, please click here. For more information on the report, please visit www.thetba.co.uk/.

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Woman Reunites With Missing Horse After Eight Years

Kayla Pevytoe of Magnolia, Texas, had been searching for her childhood horse, “Dixie,” for over eight years. Kayla lost track of her horse in 2013, when the mare was sold without her knowledge. Kayla tried to locate the mare using social media posts on her own pages and in other equine groups, and searched on horse sale sites and auction websites to no avail.

In 2021, people responding to Pevytoe's Facebook post encouraged her to contact NetPosse, also called Stolen Horse International. Pevytoe filed a “Searching for Horse” report on the NetPosse website. The website generated a flyer and volunteers issued a NetPosse Alert, similar to an Amber Alert for humans. The alert was posted on social media platforms, included in the organization's e-newsletter and given to network partners.

This time, the plea for information on Dixie was seen by the right person, and one of Dixie's former owners let Kayla know she had sold the mare six months prior to seeing the alert.

Pevytoe updated her report and the information was again disseminated on multiple platforms. Two days after the update went out, she got a call from a woman who thought her friend might have bought Dixie from an auction. The new owners then reached out to Pevytoe and agreed to sell the mare back to her former owner.

Pevytoe and her husband drove nearly nine hours to pick up the beloved mare, who was very thin. Dixie seemed to remember her old owner, perking up at her name.

Pevytoe believes the mare had moved at least six times in nearly eight years.

Help Needed: Penn Vet Strangles Survey Explores Reporting Preferences

Horse owners and veterinarians are being asked to complete a short survey on strangles produced by Penn Vet's New Bolton Center.

Strangles became a nationally monitored disease in 2017; this means that each state can have varying rules and regulations on how or if strangles is reported. Some states require that veterinarians notify the state if they have a suspected strangles case (notifiable), while other states only receive confirmed laboratory results (monitoring only). Still other states require that the state veterinarian be notified; the state vet can then put official quarantines and biosecurity measures in place (actionable).

Since so many states operate in different manners, there is no comprehensive database to show the prevalence and distribution of strangles in the United States. Additionally, there is no consensus as to if the disease should be notifiable or actionable, partially because of how difficult it can be to determine if a horse is free from disease.

This study was created to determine if horse owners and veterinarians want equine strangles to be a notifiable and/or actionable disease. Penn Vet is asking for responses to the survey, even if people haven't seen the disease. The survey should take less than 10 minutes to complete.

Learn more and take the survey here.

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