Lexington, KY – The Drug Testing
Standards and Practices (DTSP) Committee of the Association of Racing
Commissions International (ARCI) has released for industry and public comment
Proposed Revised Penalty Guidelines for violations of the antidoping or
medication rules in horse racing.
The proposed modifications represent
the first major rewrite of the penalty guidelines in more than a decade and
would dramatically increase sanctions on those violations that can be
considered “doping” or “equine endangerment.”
The committee is seeking industry and
public input before modifying or advancing the proposed revisions which were
developed by a workgroup consisting of past AAEP Presidents Dr. Kathy Anderson,
DVM and Dr. Charles Vail, DVM; trainer and former regulator John Ward; current
regulators Rick Baedeker (CHRB), Mike Hopkins (MD), and Dan Hartman (CO).
The proposal would create two
categories of violations, “Doping or Equine Endangerment” and “Treatment
Misapplication & Mismanagement”.
Penalties for “Doping or Equine
Endangerment” violations would be effectively doubled from the existing Class A
penalties, with a first violation requiring a two to five year suspension of the
trainer and a minimum $50,000 fine which could be increased to $100,000 with
aggravating circumstances. A second violation in any jurisdiction would trigger
a license revocation.
The proposal would also impose a
$25,000 fine on an owner if there is a second lifetime offense in the owner’s
stable in any jurisdiction. A third offense would suspend the owner for a
minimum of thirty days to as much as a year and impose a minimum fine of $50,000
which could be increased to $100,000.
Because of the seriousness of “Doping
or Equine Endangerment” violations a summary suspension would be immediately
required, regardless of whether there is an appeal or not.
As the ARCI Model Rules require
disclosure to a commission or the maintenance of required treatment records for
certain substances, a new recommended penalty for failure to do so would
require a minimum $500 fine for a first-time offense. A second offense would
bring a $2,500 fine, a third offense a $5,000 fine plus referral to the
commission for possible license review.
The draft penalty matrix for “Doping
and Equine Endangerment” can be downloaded here
or at http://arci.com/2019/05/doping-and-equine-endangerment-draft-penalty-matrix/
The draft modified Classification
schedule along with suggested penalty categories can be downloaded here
or at http://arci.com/2019/05/draft-of-modified-classifications-schedule/. (Please note the tabs at the bottom of the page
on the Classification schedule which organizes substances by Class.)
Industry and public comments and
proposed modifications to the proposal should be submitted prior to August 1,
2019 and emailed to rules@arci.com.
The ARCI Model Rules Committee will
meet in Saratoga Springs on Thursday, August 8, 2019. The Drug Testing
Standards and Practices Committee will review comments and proposed changes via
a conference call meeting prior to the Saratoga meeting.
