Medication: Past, Present, and Future in Racing and Performance Horses

1
Medication Past, Present, and Future in Racing
and Performance Horses

• Scot Waterman, DVM
• Executive Director

2
Racing Medication Testing Consortium

• Began in 2001 at a facilitated meeting hosted by
  the AAEP to assess whether uniform medication
  rules were achievable
• RMTC Goals uniform rules, standardized testing,
  available money for research, improved security,
  information resource for racing commissions
• Incorporated as a 501 c (3)

3
Board of Directors

• AAEP
• AQHA
• Arabian Jockey Club
• California TB Trainers
• Churchill Downs
• Del Mar
• Hambletonian Society
• Harness Tracks of America
• The Jockey Club     
• Jockeys Guild
• Keeneland
• KTA

• Magna Entertainment
• National HBPA
• NTRA
• NYRA
• Oak Tree
• RCI
• THA
• TOBA
• TB Owners of California
• TRA
• TRPB
• USTA

4
Racing Medication Testing Consortium

• Diverse, large Board can be difficult but it
  ensures that no single agenda can drive the
  development of a rule, supermajority required for
  language to pass
• Standard approach is to divide work up into
  sub-committees and bring the consensus back to
  the full Board
• Language is either adopted by the Board, edited
  and then approved or sent back to the
  sub-committee

5
Veterinarian involvement in the RMTC

• Board members
• Rick Arthur
• (Oak Tree)
• Nancy Goodman (AQHA)
• Ted Hill
• (The Jockey Club)
• Bobby Lewis
• (AAEP)
• Gregg Scoggins
• (MEC)

• Ex officio
• Glenn Blodgett (AQHA)
• Ron Jensen (Advisor)
• Milton McLure (AAEP)
• Wayne McIlwraith (AAEP)
• Committees
• Tom Brokken
• Gary Norwood
• Dan Wilson
• Tom Tobin
• Mike Weber

6
Model Rules Phase 1 (2005)

• Prohibited Practices
• Drug Classifications/Categorization
• Permitted Therapeutics
• Voluntary use of furosemide with post-race
  regulatory control
• One of three NSAIDs Bute, Banamine or
  Ketoprofen at 24 hours
• Adopted now by 32/38 racing jurisdictions

7
Uniform Penalties (2006)

• Three-tiered grid system simplified existing RCI
  penalties
• Significantly increases penalties for illegal and
  prohibited performance-enhancing drugs
• Reduces penalties for therapeutic medication
  mistakes
• Redefines trainer responsibility
• Mitigating and aggravating circumstances
  checklist for stewards
• Added penalties for other culpable licensees
  veterinarians, owners and grooms
• Adopted as rule or policy in 25 states

8
Model Rules Phase 3 (2007)

• Regulation of anabolic steroids
• Thresholds for four FDA-permitted or endogenous
  anabolics
• Stanozolol
• Boldenone
• Nandrolone
• Testosterone
• 30-45 days withdrawal time
• Out-of-competition testing
• Blood-doping agents EPO Darbypoietin
• Illegal prohibited drugs

9
Model Rules-Present FutureWithdrawal Times
Research

• Identify drugs with legitimate uses
• Prioritize drugs into five groups
• Collect previous science on each drug
• If science is insufficient then perform
  administrations on a minimum of 20 horses
• Plasma is preferred but some drugs will have both
  urine and plasma collected
• Ultimate goaluniform withdrawal time with a
  corresponding concentration of drug which
  regulates the withdrawal time

10
Withdrawal Times Research

• Priority Group 1
• Acepromazine
• Butorphanol
• Detomidine
• Glycopyrrolate
• Lidocaine
• Mepivacaine
• Methocarbamol
• Pyrilamine

• Priority Group 2
• Boldenone
• Dantrolene
• Dexamethasone
• Firocoxib
• Fluphenazine
• Hydroxyzine
• Nandrolone
• Stanozolol
• Testosterone

11
Withdrawal Times Research

• Priority Group 3
• Albuterol
• Betamethasone
• Diclofenac
• Methylprednisolone
• Reserpine
• Triamcinolone
• Trichlormethiazide
• Xylazine

• Priority Group 4
• Atropine
• Beclomethasone
• Buscopan
• Cromolyn
• Isoxsuprine
• Pentoxyfylline
• Phenytoin
• Prednisolone

12
Model Rules-Present Future Withdrawal Time
Database

• Withdrawal times posted for 18 jurisdictions and
  over 70 drugs
• Database is searchable by drug and by
  jurisdiction
• Over 2,000 unique users in first month of
  availability
• www.rmtcnet.com, click on Withdrawal Times tab
  at top of page

13
RMTC-Present FutureDrug Testing Initiatives

• Develop strategies to improve drug testing in US
• Integrate WADA laboratory standards
• Overhaul of Laboratory Quality Assurance Programs
• Development of a post-doctoral recruitment
  program
• Development of a business plan for U.S. drug
  testing infrastructure which includes research
  and development laboratory

14
Big picturethe future

• Beginning to see organizations with sticks use
  them to drive change
• Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association
  Graded Stakes Committee
• Breeders Cup
• NTRA Safety Alliance
• The Jockey Club Safety Committee
• Hambletonian Society