All medication treatment programs should be based upon the safety and welfare of the horse. While the veterinarian is ultimately the provider of medical care for the horse, treatment philosophies should be determined in conjunction with input from the owner and trainer.


With regard to medication policy in the United States, the AAEP recommends the following:


• Universal adoption in all racing jurisdictions of the Association of Racing Commissioners International (ARCI) model rules, as proposed by the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium (RMTC), including no race-day medication except furosemide (Salix®). The industry should work with the RMTC, where advisable, to make progress toward uniform medication rules that are in the best interest of the horse.


• Continued research, with industry support, to determine the causes and appropriate treatment of exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage (EIPH) in the race horse.


• Collaboration between the RMTC and the IFHA to create an international model rule of racing that can be uniformly administered worldwide.


• Establishment of a limited number of regional confirmation/reference laboratories that are adequately funded to meet the current challenges of drug testing.


• Establishment of minimal requirements, accreditation and monitoring of all testing laboratories.


• Development of uniform testing protocols for accredited laboratories. • Adoption of uniform out-of-competition testing protocols by all racing jurisdictions.


• Adoption of uniform TCO2 testing protocols by all racing jurisdictions. • Universal adoption of the penalty structures recommended in ARCI model rules and proposed by the RMTC.


• Adoption of uniform reporting practices for medication violations by all racing jurisdictions.


• Management of medication violations by racing jurisdictions with three objectives in mind: (1) to discover how the medication entered the system of the horse in order to prevent future positive tests; (2) to manage and report sub-therapeutic levels of therapeutic medication overages in a way that does not further degrade the public image of racing; and (3) to sufficiently penalize the violators and discourage further attempts to violate the rules


• The key to successful implementation of these medication recommendations is increased racetrack security to promote enforcement and achieve uniform compliance.


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