Tampa, FL - The Association of Racing
Commissioners International (RCI) is formally notifying regulators and their
testing labs of a new policy that would make it illegal to administer cobalt to
a race horse.
The RCI Board of Directors last week
voted to sanction trainers of horses that were found to have a cobalt level of
50 parts per billion (ppb) or greater of blood plasma or serum with a “B”
penalty, which calls for a minimum 15-day suspension, a minimum $500 fine, and
4 points on the trainers Multiple Medication Violation record. Owners of
horses that raced would also face a loss of any purse money earned and the
horse would be excluded from competition until a retest at the owner’s expense
proves levels have dropped to below 25 ppb in plasma/serum.
The 50 ppb was based upon the
unanimous recommendation of the RCI Scientific Advisory Group which met on
Tuesday, April 21, 2015 to review a proposal from the Racing Medication and
Testing Consortium that was submitted on April 10, 2015.
The RCI Drug Testing Standards and
Practices (DTSP) Committee unanimously affirmed that recommendation on April
23, 2015 and it was adopted that same day by the association’s Board of
Directors.
The RCI Board also adopted a policy
that would exclude horses from competition that were found to have a cobalt
level of greater than or equal to 25 ppb but below 50 ppb of blood plasma or
serum. Those horses would be placed on the Veterinarian’s List and not be
allowed to return to competition until a subsequent test proves that high
cobalt levels have dropped below 25 ppb. Subsequent tests would be
conducted at the owner’s expense.
The RCI Board of Directors opted to
defer action pending further review and comment on an additional recommendation
to impose a ten year suspension on trainers of any horse found to have over 300
parts per billion of cobalt in blood plasma or serum. That
recommendation was supported by a majority of the DTSP Committee and five
of six members of the RCI Scientific Advisory Group.
RCI policies are embodied in the ARCI
Model Rules and the Uniform Classification Guidelines for Foreign Substances,
which serve as a regulatory policy guide for commissions. In some
instances, both documents can have the force of law if a jurisdiction or regulatory
agency has enacted a policy to incorporate them by reference.
The RCI Board expressed appreciation
for the work of the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium as well as the
following members of the RCI Scientific Advisory Group: Dr. Adam
Chambers, Dr. Kenneth McKeever, Dr. George Maylin, Dr. Mary Robinson, Dr. Scott
Stanley, and Dr. Thomas Tobin.
