ADMC In Effect Again in Maryland

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority’s Anti-Doping and Medication Control Program was relaunched May 22, and was in effect again in Maryland beginning May 25 at Pimlico Race Course.

The program was initially launched March 27 but was suspended for 30 days after a district court issue an injunction based on a motion that the Federal Trade Commission had not followed the Administrative Procedure Act. HISA and the FTC then opted for a further delay given the quick turnaround before the first two Triple Crown races.

The AMDC Program is being handled by the Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit. The following is an overview from HIWU on key aspects of the program.

All covered horses are subject to ADMC Program regulations, which includes adherence to the Prohibited List of Banned and Controlled Medication Substances and Methods. Banned substances are prohibited from being used, possessed, administered, or trafficked in relation to a covered horse at any time. Controlled medications are permitted for use or administration in a covered horse except in close proximity to a race or workout to get off the vet’s list.nAs specified in the Prohibited List, certain controlled medications such as corticosteroids, NSAIDs, analgesics, and local anesthetics are regulated in samples collected following routine official timed workouts.

Lasix will be permitted except for all stakes and races for 2-year-olds. Lasix will also be permitted, regardless of age or class of competition, during training, including vet’s list workouts.

All test selection will be overseen by HIWU using an intelligence-based strategy. While HIWU has the ultimate discretion to select covered horses for testing, state stewards, veterinarians, racing commissions and laboratory partners will also inform the test selection process.

All sample-collection personnel, including test barn staff, will have been trained by HIWU staff on ADMC Program-compliant procedures. Sample collection processes will be facilitated through a HIWU app that will serve as a paperless documentation system.

All laboratories utilized under the ADMC Program are accredited by the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium pending the implementation of the HISA Equine Analytical Laboratory accreditation, and will be held to the same performance specifications.

All laboratory results for samples collected under the ADMC Program will be reported to, and processed by, HIWU. The standard turnaround time for receiving post-race test results will be 10 business days after a laboratory’s receipt of samples, and the standard turnaround for vet’s list clearance testing will be five business days after a laboratory’s receipt of samples.

HIWU, not the stewards, will be responsible for distributing notices of adverse analytical findings—positive test results—to trainers and filing charges of violations against trainers.

Anti-doping rule violations will be heard by members of an arbitral body administered by JAMS, an independent third party. Controlled medication rule violations will be heard by an internal adjudication panel whose members are selected by HISA and HIWU.

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