Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association
Posted: Jan. 7, 2018
The Association of Racing Commissioners International Board of Directors has published the latest revisions to its Model Rules of Racing based on approvals given at the organization’s December 2017 meeting. Three of the rules deal with recordkeeping and reporting by trainers and veterinarians.
The ARCI Model Rules Committee, chaired by Larry Eliason of the South Dakota Commission on Gaming, made the recommendations that were approved by the full board. ARCI President Ed Martin said the model rules “provide the template for racing regulatory entities and the framework under which the sport has made significant gains toward uniform regulations among jurisdictions.”
The new or modified rules are as follows:
(ARCI-010-035)—It further strengthens rules against misuse of the riding crop and defining what constitutes “chance to respond” for a jockey giving the horse the opportunity to respond to crop use before using it again.
(ARCI-011-022)—It defines the party responsible for an adverse finding in an out-of-competition test.
(ARCI-008-020)—It requires trainers to keep up-to-date records of all medications and treatments administered to horses in their care.
(ARCI-011-010)—It requires any veterinarian who treats a racehorse on association grounds to submit a Veterinarian’s Medication Report to the official veterinarian or other regulatory authority designee.
(ARCI-008-020)—It requires trainers to maintain 30-day records documenting all corticosteriod or other intra-articular injections for horses under their care. The 30-day records must be provided to the new trainer if a horse is claimed.
(ARCI-009-010)—It provides conditions for which a claim shall be voided—most prominently the death of the horse on the track—and provides conditions under which the new owner can have the claim voided within an hour after the race.
The new rules on the reporting and recordkeeping for various treatments have been discussed by multiple industry organizations and suggested at the Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit.
“We have made great progress toward attaining uniformity among our racing jurisdictions,” said ARCI Chairman Jeff Colliton, who chairs the Washington Horse Racing Commission. “Integral to that process is developing rules and regulations based on fairness, practicality and enforceability with the ultimate mission of what is in the best interest of safety, horses’ welfare, the betting public and integrity of the game.
“Our Model Rules Committee continues to do outstanding and thoughtful work on very complex subjects in a rapidly changing world.”