On Wednesday, December 12, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission unanimously voted to change the medication rules for racehorses participating in the state.
The changes will now go through a legislative process, which could last six months.
A report by The Courier-Journal states that standardbred breeder Alan Leavitt and attorney Tom Conway voted against the rule changes.
Many in Kentucky’s harness racing industry have said that the state needs different rules for standardbred racing. The issue has to due with the withdrawal times for clenbuterol treatments. The proposed withdrawal times would hinder a standardbred’s ability to race every week.
According to The Courier-Journal, Leavitt said that the rule change will be “a very heavy blow to harness racing here in Kentucky.”
The report went on to quote Conway as saying that the rule change could put the Kentucky harness racing industry “out of business.”
Conway also said that Kentucky harness industry is “probably the cleanest racing in the United States” and that Kentucky harness racing “may be giving up more than we gain.”
(With files from The Courier-Journal)