Ohio Eyes Changes in Racehorse Drug Policy and Testing

On August 22, 2013, The Medication Committee met for the first time since May 24, 2012. Attorney John Izzo attended this meeting and this is what he had to say... The first item on the agenda was therapeutic medication thresholds adopted by the Association of Racing Commissioners International in April of 2013. The medication list was provided and the public was given ten days to comment on it. There was no further discussion, other than the Commission’s unwillingness to provide withdrawal times for the medications listed. The next item on the agenda was TCO2 testing. Effective January 1, 2014, the Commission will no longer test for TCO2 pre-race. Instead, post-race testing will be done at the standardbred and thoroughbred tracks. The winner and others tested will remain in the test barn for ninety minutes after the race have blood drawn to be tested at the official laboratory. The consensus appeared to be that there were too many problems with the Radiometers at the tracks, and it would be better to have certified technicians conducting the tests. At the end of the meeting, Chairman of the Committee was asked about the status of the ruled change submitted by the Jockeys’ Guild last year concerning shock wave therapy. There was no update. In addition, when asked about pre-race examinations required by the Rules, Investigator Joe Crugnale said he didn’t know what was being done, so he would look into it. For more detail about this new change in Drug Policy and Testing for the Ohio State Racing Commission, take a look at the attached article.http://www.thehorse.com/articles/32448/ohio-eyes-changes-in-racehorse-drug-policy-and-testing