Despite all the legal controversies over the past few weeks and months, the Horse Racing Safety and Integrity Act (HISA) drug control and anti-doping and anti-doping program still looks set to come out this week. January 1 in the vast majority of states conducts peer-to-peer betting.
This means that on the first day of 2023, thousands of trainers, veterinarians and other manual workers grapple with a new set of rules that guide how and when to use a daily medication kit–list of medications that may be available found here–to avoid aggressive fouling after the race and out of the competition.
Is there much difference between the current dosing schedule of the International Association of Racing Commissioners (ACRI) and the one outlined by the Horse Racing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU)?
It turns out there is – one that, in short, focuses on the current world differences in guidelines and withdrawal thresholds, as well as the looming system of detection times and screening limits.
Mary Scollay, chief scientific officer of HIWU, founded by Drug Free Sport International, warns: “There is a significant difference and if the terms are used interchangeably, there is a risk of infringement. serious drugs.
Some key points as January 1 approaches:
- Time of detection does not necessarily provide an accurate withdrawal guide;
- The new refinement limits will require different governance protocols;
- There will be no enforcement “extension period” for stakeholders to adjust.
- This different dosing schedule will need to be adjusted by January 1;
Principle of withdrawal vs detection time
Traditionally, withdrawal guidelines are based on management studies with a “built-in statistically derived margin of safety,” says Scollay.
“The idea is that if you follow the management process described in the study – dosage, administration – and you stick to the withdrawal instructions,” says Scollay, “you will have a high degree of confidence that you won’t. drug abuse.”
In other words, the withdrawal instructions provide a reliable cut-off point for drug use in order to avoid positive post-race reactions.
This is in contrast to HISA time of detection, which is calculated through studies of a group of horses given a certain drug.
These horses were then tested to determine the earliest time the drug was removed from all equine systems – levels below the lowest laboratory determined concentration or below the defined screening limit.
This means that the detection time “doesn’t have any calculated safety limits,” warns Scolllay. “It is the starting point to determine the withdrawal period. So the burden of establishing appropriate withdrawal intervals now rests solely with the equine associations.”
For example, in any of these studies, horses were able to metabolize the drug at different rates – and potentially faster than a racehorse given the same drug at the same dose.
Studies with a very small group of horses – such as hydroxyzine, with a detection time of 96 hours from a study with only two horses – provide another reason why detection times can be highly biased. small.
As a prescriptive veterinarian explains, imagine a study testing a door frame set at a height of 6 feet. If all the study participants were under 6 feet tall, there was no problem. But what about all the people over 6 feet tall who weren’t studied?
Therefore, for practicing veterinarians accustomed to specific drug discontinuation times, this represents a major shift in the way medications are prescribed and used safely to avoid positive effects. expensive after the race.
“There is no easy answer to this,” Scollay admitted. “I fully understand this is a philosophical shift, and yes, I understand that vets may feel like they are going blind right now.”
The goal of the schedule
In addition to a few selected substances – such as electrolytes, vitamins and oral anti-ulcer drugs can be used 24 hours before the race–there is a mandatory 48-hour shelf-life for all controlled drugs.
For some of these commonly controlled drugs, the dosage, discontinuation, and thresholds specified in the current ARCI schedule are the same as those outlined by HIWU. .
But when these differences are present, the differences can be subtle, easily overlooked. The ARCI threshold for phenylbutazone is 0.3 micrograms per millimeter, but is 0.2 micrograms per millimeter according to HISA, for example – a small change with significant implications when using it in the days leading up to the race. Furthermore, Scollay cannot give vets and cavalry a specific number of withdrawals. “HIWU and HISA are unable to provide withdrawal instructions,” she said. “I can’t say, ‘I think you’ll be fine if you go back 82 hours.’”
Things can get more complicated when HIWU provides guidance on zero dose, detection time, and screening limits for a drug listed on the controlled drug list. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that veterinarians and trainers are truly “blind”.
The corticosteroid betamethasone doesn’t have a dose or duration of detection listed, but it does come with a Restricted Administration Time (RAT) to race for 14 days (7 days for a job).
The non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) diclofenac — commonly found in topical ointments to treat swelling and inflammation — likewise has no listed dose and duration of detection.
As Scollay explains, that’s because the process of calculating the elimination time in an ointment – and therefore a medication applied regularly in wildly different amounts to different parts of the body – is extremely difficult.
But this highlights, she says, that the overarching aim of the new dosing schedule is to promote a more cautious approach to veterinary medicine.
If diclofenac is used to treat a problem joint, says Scollay, “in my view, once you’ve calmed that joint, I think you still want to assess the horse’s response to it. the treatment and assess the horse’s recovery by pacifying it. .
“And so you’re not talking about stopping treatment for a specific joint that’s already inflamed and has problems going into the three-day race.”
In other words, if a topical diclofenac ointment is being used to treat certain musculoskeletal problems, racing probably shouldn’t be on the horse’s impending agenda, says Scollay.
clearance check
Broadly speaking, there is a very crude rule when calculating withdrawal times. One is that a short detection time is often an indication that the system is being phased out quickly, says Scollay.
“But if something takes 96 hours to delete, I’m more cautious because I know it’s going to delete slowly,” says Scollay, speculating that “if I add 24 hours to it, I might not have enough time.” time to delete. “
But perhaps the most accurate guidance for veterinarians and trainers concerned about a positive test result, Scollay said, would be to conduct a “cleanness check” before race day – a service offered through HIWU.
“We will take a sample from the horse, then send it to the lab that is doing the testing. The trainer will have to provide information about the treatment, the type of medication, the dose, the frequency – when it is stopped,” says Scollay.
It is not a free service, however.
“I don’t know how much that fee is yet,” Scollay added. “That will be paid by the horse’s connections.”
Importantly, the new controlled drug regulations are primarily relevant to post-race testing, not HISA’s out-of-competition testing program, which largely focuses on banned substances.
That said, the new rules prohibit the presence of more than one NSAID or corticosteroid in both post-race and post-workout samples—a ban designed to incorporate the practice.”stacking.”
HIWU’s new General Controlled Drug List provides secondary detection times for three common NSAIDS, to help avoid criminal stacking.
Enforcement
While new drug rules may represent a marked shift from the status quo, don’t expect an enforcement grace period for stakeholders to adapt to their new regulatory expectations.
“Regulations don’t provide for it,” Scollay said emphatically.
So, what are some of the implications for a positive for a controlled substance? Summary of sanctions can be found here.
The majority of post-race positives were for everyday drugs – such as phenylbutazone, a class C controlled drug, positive for for the first time this will result in a fine of up to $500 and the horse is automatically disqualified.
This leads to another question: Who will be responsible in the case of a positive?
The final underwriter rule places the burden of responsibility on the trainer. But in the language of the law, there seems to be room for veterinarians (and perhaps others) to be held accountable for the same.
As Scollay describes, such a scenario would be case-by-case. “The facts of the case will have to determine who else might be complicit,” she said. “To be fair, if it was a drug overdose, people would say, ‘well, the vet didn’t administer that without the trainer’s knowledge and consent. .’”
And so, when should veterinarians, trainers and others start adopting these new controlled dosing rules?
With a 14-day deadline for all intra-articular injections–along with a 15-day detection period for the NSAID firocoxib–Scollay recommends familiarizing and adopting the new rules as soon as possible to avoid consequences. legal occurred on January 1.1.
In other words, if trainers and veterinarians decide to withdraw after a horse is entered in a race after January 1, “they’ve waited too long,” says Scollay.
“I think it is more important for veterinarians and trainers to jointly review the literature and develop a common approach to interpreting detection time,” she said. “And there’s no time like the present for that.”
Education
Between now and January 1, HIWU will apparently be releasing educational materials geared toward regulated and practicing veterinarians, as well as the instructors themselves.
Another planned event, says Scollay, is a webinar with a prominent European veterinarian to explain how detection times and screening limits vary in Europe, where they have take effect much longer. However, Scollay could not provide details on that date.
Scollay said the Racing Drug and Test Consortium (RMTC) can act as a mediator, adding that industry stakeholders can contact her directly with any questions. drug related.
She also recommends printing out HIWU’s list of controlled drugs—again link here–before laminating and pinning to the barn wall.
“I used the ‘L’ word every chance I got. Roll it out, put it on your clipboard. Give them to your employees. It’s your new bible,” says Scollay.
She said: “There is no easy answer to this but to be more cautious and more cautious with drugs than before. “And ask yourself, ‘does this horse really need it?’”
