IN-DEPTH: MEDICATION AND THERAPEUTICS FOR RACEHORSES


that therapeutic medication is necessary to main- tain a healthy athlete is laudable yet it is becoming more difficult to obtain validation from a non- agrarian-based society. This is not a new frontier. However, in the public lens, responsible medication use in equine sport is becoming increasingly impor- tant and the equine veterinary community must adapt to a changing world if racing and performance horse sports are to remain viable and relevant. Rest assured that the sky is not falling when it pertains to use of medication in performance horses. That said, equine veterinarians are a trusted re- source, must remain so, and must be tolerant and accepting to public interest and concerns pertaining to medication in the competitive equine athlete. The focus of this presentation will be directed pri- marily to the racing industry and its stakeholders, whose utmost priority needs to be the safety and welfare of the horse. However, many of the same principles and concepts presented here can be ap- plied to the majority of disciplines in the perfor- mance horse industry as well.


2. Discussion


Medication issues in equine sport have been at the forefront of veterinary medicine for many years. In fact, medication issues in racing have been a provocative issue since the inception of the Ameri- can Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP). A headline in the Los Angeles Times read, “Cops Ride with Vets” depicting the poor image of the racetrack practitioner, thus serving as the primary impetus of the founding members of the AAEPb. For the past 60 years, medication use in racing has been a recurrent topic of conversation and debate with the results sometimes coming full circle. For example, in 1965, the medication rule, which pro- hibited the use of specific medications 48 hours prior to a race, was abolished in California. Interest- ingly enough, in 2019 due to political pressure from animal rights activists, in conjunction with a media crisis surrounding fatalities at Santa Anita, a 48- hour medication rule was reinstated in California. Throughout the years, and in large part due to the


service of many equine practitioners, model rules and standards of practice were developed for com- petitive equine sports, specifically horse racing. The 1960 AAEP Guidelines contained the Policies Pertaining to Medication of Race Horses, essentially becoming the rules of racing at that time pertaining to medication. In 1963, the premise of medication uniformity and responsible use of medication had already been born. According to Dr. Jack Robbins, “If rules pertaining to medication could be more clearly defined and standardized, the practice of eth- ical veterinary medicine would be greatly simplified and facilitated”c. Today, racing industry struggles with the same issues as uniformity of 38 racing jurisdictions adopting different sections of the Na- tional Uniform Medication Program (NUMP) has been challenging. NUMP, developed through the


380 2020  Vol. 66  AAEP PROCEEDINGS


work of the Racing Medication and Testing Consor- tium, is designed to provide unprecedented reform for horse racing in the areas of uniform medication rules, penalties, and testing guidelines. Much progress has been made, but because of differing issues among states, more work needs to be done to achieve medication uniformity in racing. The horse show industry has not been exempt


from the perception of illicit drug use in medication. As such, the first American Horse Show Association (AHSA) Drug and Medication Rules committee was formed in 1971 to address illicit drug use with med- ication. Over the years, governing bodies such as Fe


´de ´ration Equestre Internationale (FEI) and


United State Equestrian Federation (USEF) have diligently attempted to provide medication guide- lines that are responsible and in the best interest of the horse. They have for the most part been suc- cessful in establishing regulations in performance, while protecting the horse, and ensuring the integ- rity of fair competition. However, due to the short- coming of inappropriate human competitiveness and the desire to prevail and gain monetarily, these or- ganizations must remain steadfast in their regula- tory efforts to maintain stakeholder confidence. In racing, the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium, established by the AAEP in 2001, has been the most impactful and relevant organization relative to rules and regulations in the last several years. They have developed science-based industry standards pertaining to medication withdrawal times and laboratory standards. They serve as a resource to industry stakeholders, specifically veter- inarians and horsemen, when applying rules of rac- ing in a practical manner. The organization continues to be the most germane and progressive organization in racing as far as rules, regulation, and policy are concerned. Rules and regulation in sport are mandatory, and with the current sophisti- cated level of testing, they must remain practical and fluid. The management of the aforementioned aspects of fair competition in racing is dependent upon veterinary practitioners and organizations such as the AAEP. Groups such as Racing Medication and Testing Consortium, which are veterinary centric, provide resources from veterinarians whereby the horse is the central focus. Veterinarians are regarded as the most trustworthy stewards regarding equine safety according to a 2019 surveyd. Racetrack and performance horse veterinarians must engage pro- fessionally and politically to defend the horse. But equally important, is the need to continually man- age the veterinary profession in performance horses, thus providing a means for social license to operate as a professional entity within the realm of compet- itive equine sports. The social license to operate is constantly evolving and based on public trust. If that trust is lost, veterinarians could potentially lose the ability to maintain leadership in the equine industry.


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