Under the plan violations of the
medication and doping rules would be tracked by the RCI and points
assigned. Enhanced penalties would be added to a fine or suspension
imposed for the underlying violation once a trainer accumulates sufficient
points.
All enhanced penalties currently under consideration are in the form of prolonged suspensions, regardless of whether the underlying sanction is in the form of a fine.
“Many of us believe that this
approach will effectively tackle the problem posed by those who look at getting
several violations as a cost of doing business,” RCI President Ed Martin
said. “Under this system, a trainer who is cited for three
lower-level Phenylbutazone overages
(i.e. between 2.0-5.0 micrograms/ml) will get a 30 day suspension on top of the
recommended $500-$1000 fine. The more serious the infraction, the
greater the suspension.”
The plan being considered by RCI
would also permit points assigned for lesser penalty class violations to
expire. Points assigned for the most serious violations would be
permanent.
The RCI Regulatory Attorneys
Committee met earlier this week via conference call and voted to modify a
proposal from a working group at the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium
(RMTC) to create a separate violation for multiple offenses.
“The U.S. system of jurisprudence
permits appeals on each separate violation. The length of time it
takes to finalize a case is often beyond the control of a racing commission and
our attorneys thought that this should be structured
differently. Creating a separate violation creates the
possibility of an even longer appeals process before a case is final,” Martin
said.
The RCI Board of Directors first
discussed the concept of a “point system” in July 2011. Since then
RCI has worked with various industry leaders and organizations to develop a
workable system. Several approaches have been considered and
rejected, but it was not until this year that an RMTC working group suggested
modifying the original concept to be an “overlay” on the existing penalty
guidelines.
The RMTC is still working on
finalizing its recommendation to the RCI.
Martin said that the input and
support for the concept from the Regulatory Attorneys Committee was an
important step in advancing this reform. RCI will consider a plan at the
July 31, 2013 RCI Board of Directors Meeting.
“A lot of our members have worked
on this and there is a desire to have enhanced penalties included in the
guidelines in time for those jurisdictions seeking a January 1, 2014
implementation date of the RCI Schedule of Controlled Therapeutic Substances,”
he said.
