AAEP Forms Task Force to Identify Therapeutic Drugs

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The American Association of Equine Practitioners has formed a task force to identify therapeutic medications used in racehorses. The organization was approached by the Testing Integrity Program, commonly known as TIP.

Dr. Gary Norwood, a racetrack veterinarian in Louisiana and Texas, will chair the Task Force of Dosage and Treatment Regimens for Therapeutic Medications on the Racetrack. The task force is expected to begin its work soon.

Sally Baker, director of public relations for the AAEP, said the organization views the task force as another way to support the development of uniform national standards for medication, testing, security, and enforcement. Last October, the AAEP adopted a broad medication policy, and later this year plans a "medication summit" in Tucson, Ariz.

Baker said TIP, a vehicle through which veterianians, chemists, and pharmacologists share information and seek common ground, is interested in learning the treatment schedule for the drugs in question.

Meanwhile, the National Thoroughbred Racing Association's Task Force on Racing Integrity and Drug Testing Standards is scheduled to release information on its "super testing" program Aug. 19 in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. The report, according to task force executive director Jim Gallagher, will discuss differences in medication rules and testing, as well as variations in threshold levels for drugs from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.

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