“The
RCI Board believes the advisory process on racing medication and anti-doping
policy can be strengthened and redundancies eliminated,” RCI Chairman John T. Ward,
Jr. said. “As regulators, we have the exclusive responsibility to make and
enforce the rules and given current challenges we believe it is time to
restructure the advisory process to make it stronger.”
The
action was prompted by numerous factors: functional concerns about the current
scientific advisory process, transparency, non-participation of key experts,
and the withdrawal of the United States Trotting Association from the Racing
Medication and Testing Consortium (RMTC).
Regulators
from twenty-one major racing jurisdictions directed RCI President Ed Martin to
send a formal letter to the RMTC, proposing a partial or complete merger of the
organization into a reconstituted RCI Drug Testing Standards and Practices
Committee. (Letter follows).
“Given
the economic challenges faced by the racing industry, we believe any effort to
eliminate redundancies and simplify processes is the right way to go,” Martin
said.
Should
the RMTC accept an invitation to merge, it would not be the first time that RCI
has worked to effectuate a racing industry merger. In 2005, the North American
Pari-Mutuel Regulators Association merged with RCI. “Today, our collective
effort is stronger, more professional, and effective than
when we had two groups,” Martin wrote.
“The
current policy formation process has seven steps. We think that can be cut to
five,” Martin said. (See chart below)
Membership on the Scientific
Advisory Board is by appointment of the RCI Chairperson. Information as to its
membership will be posted on the RCI website when fully constituted.
###
December 15, 2014
Board of Directors
Racing Medication and Testing Consortium
C/o Alex Waldrop, RMTC Chairman
Thoroughbred Racing Association
2525 Harrodsburg Road, Suite 510
Lexington, KY 40504
Dear RMTC Board Member:
On
behalf of the regulators of professional horse racing in North America, we
write to express our appreciation for the work of the RMTC during the past
decade as well as to formally invite you to enter into merger discussions with
RCI in an effort to streamline and strengthen the process of racing medication
policy formation.
It
is the exclusive and express responsibility of the racing regulator to
formulate and implement policy. For over eighty years, racing regulators have
chosen to organize themselves in an association currently known as the RCI.
The
RMTC has made important contributions over the years and the complimentary work
of our two organizations has resulted in important reforms being implemented. The
RMTC was formed to assist regulators and advance uniformity in regulation.
While
racing’s official regulators,
organized as RCI, have always welcomed input and recommendations from racing
industry participants and organizations, we reserve the right to determine how
that input is assessed and what the process should be to determine recommended
policy.
As
such, on December 12, 2014, the RCI Board voted unanimously to create a
scientific advisory process inclusive of the best and most accomplished
scientists and researchers in horse racing’s testing program, most of who are already employed directly or
indirectly by RCI Members.
The
recommendations from this group will be considered in conjunction with those of
the RCI Equine Welfare and Regulatory Veterinarians Committees in determining
how best to combat those who cheat while balancing humane and justified
treatment regimens to ensure the health and safety of racing equines. They will
also be considered in consultation with the RCI Regulatory Attorney’s Committee, composed of those
responsible for prosecuting regulatory infractions and drafting the legal
language of regulations.
In
recent years the credibility of the current RMTC process has been questioned. In
some quarters, confidence has eroded, even among some of the RMTC’s strongest historical supporters. This
was compounded by the departure of the USTA and some science advisors deemed
essential by key regulatory jurisdictions and others. Additionally, late
modifications to recent recommended policy submissions after the commencement
of regulatory rule promulgations has also raised concerns.
We take this action to meet the
needs of our members. While we understand that this may require the RMTC to
reassess its role, please know that we encourage and value the direct and
continued input and involvement of various stakeholder entities.
In
2005, the North American Pari-Mutuel Regulatory Association and RCI merged into
one group. Today, our collective effort is stronger, more professional, and
effective than when we had two groups. We believe we would collectively benefit
from an effort to streamline and strengthen the process of racing medication
policy formation.
We
extend an invitation to merge some or all of the RMTC functions into the RCI
Drug Testing Standards and Practices Committee and, in so doing, create a new
public-private partnership that will better serve the sport. If you have
interest, we invite a committee of non-regulatory RMTC Directors from the
funding organizations to meet with us to explore this concept at your earliest
convenience.
Sincerely,
Edward J. Martin,
RCI President
on behalf of the RCI Board members
noted below who voted to send this letter without objection
John Ward - Kentucky
Robert Williams - New York
Mark Lamberth - Arkansas
Dr. Jennifer
Durenberger - MA
Frank Zanzuccki - New Jersey
Jill Blackman -
Florida
W. Duncan Patterson - Delaware
Steven Lehman - Ontario
Vince Mares - New Mexico (Ex-Officio)
Larry Eliason - South Dakota
Eddie Menton,
Mobile County
Rick Baedeker -
California
J. Michael Hopkins - Maryland
Charles Gardiner - Louisiana
Dr. Corinne
Sweeney - Pennsylvania
Daniel
Hartman - Colorado
Constantin Rieger
- Oklahoma
Tom Sage -
Nebraska
Jeff Colliton - Washington
Erin Owens - Arizona (Ex-Officio)
Tom DiPasquale -
Minnesota (Ex-Officio)
Current Process - 7 Steps
RMTC Scientific Advisory
Committee
ê
RMTC Executive Committee
ê
RMTC Board of Directors
ê
RCI Drug Testing Standards and Practices
Committee.
(Input from Regulatory Veterinarians, Regulatory
Attorneys, Equine Welfare Committees)
ê
RCI Model Rules Committee
(Public Comment Input)
ê
RCI Board of Directors/Membership
ê
Commissions
New Process - 5 Steps
RCI Scientific Advisory Group
ê
RCI Drug Testing Standards and Practices
Committee (reconstituted).[1]
(Input from Regulatory Veterinarians, Regulatory
Attorneys, Equine Welfare Committees)
ê
RCI Model Rules Committee
(Public Comment Input)
ê
RCI Board of Directors/Membership
ê
Commissions
