The federally sanctioned authority empowered by newly proposed legislation by
Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell will be able to impose strict controls on the
use of any therapeutic medications administered to a “covered horse”,
effectively setting the stage for a program that could require a veterinarian
to receive prior permission before treating the horse with a prescription
medication.
Such a system, if implemented, would parallel the “therapeutic use exemption” program
in human sport. Under the requirements of the World Anti-Doping
Agency code, advance permission must be obtained before a controlled substance is
administered to an athlete in training or competition.
Unlike human sport, it is not expected that the new Authority would depart from
current ARCI Model Rules or IFHA standards that prohibit such drugs to be
present in the horse when it races.
But S.4547 does give the new Authority powers to control all substances
administered to horses under its jurisdiction. Under
the proposal, a “covered horse” comes under the jurisdiction of the new
Authority after its first timed workout at a racetrack.
The analysis finds that the new Authority could, for the first time, put in
place a system to control what some believe is the overuse of certain drugs in
the care and preparation of horses intended to race. Whether it
will actually do so, the timing of such a change, or how it would work is not
yet known.
Given the number of racehorses potentially regulated by the new Authority such
a program would require additional resources than what is currently available
in the regulatory network in order to review such applications.
State Racing Commissions are not authorized to regulate the practice of
veterinary medicine. There has, however, been a trend within the
ARCI and the RMTC to require commission notification of certain treatments and
in some limited circumstances advance approval. Current
regulatory policy relies largely on the ability of a commission to exclude a
horse from competition. In some jurisdictions legal and
liability concerns have affected the extent of the changes that could be done.
In July 2019, the ARCI proposed a private regulatory scheme using existing
breed registry authority to require submission of all veterinary treatment
records, including the diagnosis required for treatments, of all intended
racehorses from birth forward, These records would be electronically
reviewed to “red flag’ horses in need of greater monitoring in order to help
regulatory veterinarians assess whether a horse is high risk and should be
excluded from competition.
As S.4547 has a greater focus on anti-doping, it does not require such a
system. The bill does effectively put the actual horse under the
regulatory authority of the new Authority at a uniform and consistent point in
its career, eliminating inconsistencies that currently exist in state-based
statutes and rules.
It remains unclear whether the Authority will require the submission of all
veterinary records or will fall short of what the ARCI had asked the Jockey
Club to require in 2019.
