Indiana on Wednesday became the latest state to adopt all of the national uniform medication rules, penalties and testing reforms developed by the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium (RMTC) and adopted as model rules by the Association of Racing Commissioners International (RCI).
Home to Indiana Grand Racing and Casino (which conducts Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing) and Hoosier Park (Standardbreds), Indiana is set to implement the new rules on May 15.
The medication schedule and penalties—formally known as the Controlled Therapeutic Medication Schedule and the Model Medication Violations Penalties System, respectively—were unanimously approved at Wednesday’s regular monthly meeting of the Indiana Horse Racing Commission. Indiana’s regulations currently meet or exceed the RCI model rule requiring third-party administration of furosemide (commonly known as Lasix) - a key aspect of the reforms - through their longstanding Integrity Program instituted in 2006. Also, Indiana recently entered into an equine drug testing agreement with RMTC-accredited LGC Sports Science Laboratory in Lexington, Ky.
Also on Wednesday, three additional equine drug testing laboratories received full accreditation by the RMTC. The labs receiving accreditation were Truesdail in Tustin, Calif., Industrial Laboratories in Wheat Ridge, Colo., and the Ohio Department of Agriculture laboratory in Columbus, Ohio. RMTC accreditation is based on protocols established by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), considered the gold standard in human drug testing.
RMTC-accredited laboratories are now responsible for the testing of samples for 23 of the 34 racing jurisdictions in the United States, including Ariz., Ark., Calif., Colo., Del., Idaho, Ind., Ky., Maine, Mass., Md., Minn., N.D., Neb., N.J., N.M., Nev., Ohio, Okla., Ore., Va., Wash. and Wy. The University of California, Davis Kenneth L. Maddy Equine Analytical Chemistry Laboratory and the LGC Sports Science Laboratory were accredited in 2013.
“We applaud the state of Indiana and the Indiana Horse Racing Commission for joining the growing number of states that have adopted these important reforms in their entirety,” said NTRA President and CEO Alex Waldrop, who also chairs the RMTC. “Along with the recent RMTC accreditation of three national testing laboratories, this represents another important step toward our goal of national adoption and implementation of uniform rules, penalties and testing standards.”
The entire set of National Uniform Medication Reforms are accessible online here, and a current list of nearly 60 major industry organizations that have urged their adoption can be viewed here.
(NTRA)