Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association
Posted: March 26, 2023
The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority’s Anti-Doping and Medication Control Program, which will be administered by the Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit, is scheduled to begin March 27 pending approval of the Federal Trade Commission.
HISA and HIWU issued the following outline of the program as well as enforcement updates regarding the Racetrack Safety Program that launched July 1, 2022.
ADMC Program
All covered horses are subject to the ADMC Program regulations, which includes adherence to the Prohibited List of Banned and Controlled Substances/Methods.
Banned substances are prohibited from being used, possessed, administered, or trafficked in relation to a covered horse at any time. Controlled Medication Substances are permitted for use or administration in a covered horse, except in close proximity to a race or vet’s list workout. As specified in the Prohibited List, certain Controlled Medication Substances, corticosteroids, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, analgesics, and local anesthetics are regulated in samples collected following routine official timed workouts.
Lasix will be permitted in all races except for 2-year-old races and stakes. Lasix will also be permitted, regardless of age or class of competition, during training, including vet’s list works.
All test selection will be overseen by HIWU using an intelligence-based strategy. While HIWU has the ultimate discretion to select covered horses for testing, intelligence from boots-on-the-ground industry participants, including state stewards and veterinarians, and continued cooperation with state racing regulatory agencies and laboratory/scientific partners will also inform the test selection process.
All sample collection personnel, including test barn staff, will have been trained by HIWU staff on ADMC Program-compliant procedures. Sample collection processes will be facilitated by a HIWU app that will serve as a paperless documentation system. The app will be pre-populated with relevant race-day and covered horse information from InCompass and the HISA portal.
National whistleblower platforms will launch on the date of implementation. HIWU has partnered with RealResponse, a provider of safe and secure reporting platform for athletes, teams, and organizations. Through telephone, text message, or email, individuals will be able to safely and anonymously provide any information relating to potential ADMC rule violations, including names of covered horses, trainers, owners, or test barns.
Individuals will have the option to voluntarily provide their contact information so that the HIWU investigations team can follow up, if needed. The whistleblower phone numbers, text message information, and email address will be published upon launch of the ADMC Program.
All labs utilized under the ADMC Program are accredited by the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium, pending the implementation of the HISA Equine Analytical Laboratory accreditation, and will be held to the same performance specifications.
All laboratory results for samples collected under the ADMC Program will be reported to, and processed by, HIWU. The standard turnaround time for receiving post-race test results will be 10 business days after laboratory receipt of samples, and the standard turnaround for vet’s list clearance testing will be five business days after laboratory receipt of samples.
HIWU will be responsible for distributing notices of adverse analytical findings (for example, positive test results) to responsible persons (trainers) under the ADMC Program and filing charges of ADMC Program violations against responsible persons.
Anti-doping rule violations will be heard by members of the arbitral body, which is administered by JAMS, an independent third party. Controlled Medication rule violations will be heard by the internal adjudication panel, whose members are selected by HISA and HIWU.
Racetrack Safety Program
As of March 27, 2023, all horsemen (trainers and jockeys) must be registered with HISA and in compliance with HISA’s registration and racetrack safety requirements in order to race. Any individual who is not registered or compliant with HISA’s regulations will be subject to enforcement action and will not be able to race.
Three key actions must be completed to be able to race:
- Register with HISA at hisaus.org/registration.
- Pay any unpaid fines in the HISA portal.
- Enter the dates of their latest physical and concussion baseline exams into the HISA portal. The exams must have taken place within the last 12 months. (This requirement applies only to jockeys.)
If horsemen are told they are unable to race due to non-compliance with HISA rules, and they believe that to be incorrect or a mistake, they should reach out immediately to the race-day support line at 1-866-404-4472 and be prepared to provide their name and HISA identification number to resolve the issue.