The coronavirus pandemic caused many painful disruptions in our daily lives, and the harness racing industry was certainly not immune to those struggles. And while COVID certainly hindered certain procedures and processes, it also prompted innovation.
One of the horse racing industry's most common but antiquated activities is the process by which furosemide — most commonly referred to as lasix — is procured for horses on the EIPH program.
Racing Forensics administers the TCO2 testing in B.C., Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario and Québec and the EIPH program in Ontario as well as western Canada. With the protocols and guidelines that individuals have been mandated to follow at the country's racetracks, traditional transactions with cash payments and voucher redemption proved cumbersome.
"We've been doing TCO2 testing in Ontario since 1999, and we've done the test barn and lasix injections throughout most of Canada since 2000," Richard Tso, President & Operations Manager at Racing Forensics, told Trot Insider. "Traditionally in the thoroughbred industry, they have horsemen's bookkeepers at each racetrack. So they handle all the accounting, including paying for their lasix injections and testing. But they don't have that on the Standardbred side of things.
"It is a user-paid program, first of all, so we've been having to collect for the injections and the ultimate testing of the samples. That's always been either cash or cheque, or what we also did was introduce vouchers."
Like many, Tso and his team were forced to reexamine normal procedures once racing resumed under COVID-19 protocols.
"We had to do a hard rethink of all of this when COVID hit, we had to change a lot of procedures, like the reduction in retention time [as mandated by the CPMA from 60 to 40 minutes]. We basically did not want paperwork passing back and forth, just to minimize the contact and allow the proper distancing to occur.
"One of the last pieces was actually the Lasix payments, and a lot of horsemen use vouchers but a lot use cash and cheque. What we decided to do last June is develop an electronic payment program where the horseman could log in and pay their Lasix shots remotely."
As a result, Racing Forensics is pleased to introduce a convenient EIPH payment platform for Standardbred trainers in Ontario and Western Canada. Trainers can make EIPH payments remotely anywhere they have an internet connection.
The EIPH payments website is part of Racing Forensic's continuing efforts to combat the spread of COVID-19 and will help eliminate paper transactions in the Retention Area (Test Barn).
The website allows Standardbred trainers to use a phone, tablet or computer to securely access their account and pay for EIPH services. Payments can be made by debit or credit card, and electronic receipts are instantly sent via e-mail and/or text message after each transaction. Additional features include the ability to view upcoming injections, payment histories and even purchase credits in lieu of vouchers for future services.
"It's ready to go; we did a soft rollout in Alberta over the last few weeks and the trainers that are enrolled in it really seem to like it."
Registration for trainers is now available at eiph.ca. Tso made it clear that the Racing Forensics team doesn't have access to any of the banking information as it's stored securely by the payment vendor. And after each transaction, the trainer receives a confirmation email and / or text message confirming payment virtually instantly.
For questions or technical support, please contact Zoe Sametz-Goodwin at (587) 998-3227 or [email protected].