The Association of Racing Commissioners International’s Board of Directors has published the latest revisions to its Model Rules of Racing.

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 updated model rules can be downloaded and viewed at arci.com.

In early December during ARCI meetings held in concert with the University of Arizona’s Race Track Industry Program, the racing regulators’ model-rules committee took up an array of topics, with their recommendations then approved by the board. The committee is chaired by the South Dakota Commission on Gaming’s Larry Eliason.

“We have made great progress toward attaining uniformity among our racing jurisdictions,” said ARCI board chair Jeff Colliton, who also is chair of 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.”

The changes, modifications and updates include:

• ARCI-010-035: Further strengthening 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: Defines who is the responsible person for an adverse finding in an out-of-competition test.

• ARCI-008-020: Requires trainers to keep up-to-date records of all medications and treatments which are administered to horses in their care.

• ARCI-011-010: Requires any veterinarian who treats a race horse on association grounds to submit a Veterinarian’s Medication Report to the Official Veterinarian or other regulatory authority designee.

• ARCI-008-020: 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: 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 ARCI board also accepted a recommendation from the Greyhound Racing Committee to approve an amendment to greyhound racing's model rules that would permit the administration of validly prescribed testosterone for the purpose of controlling estrus in racing female greyhounds.

(ARCI)