Moving forward with its initiative to significantly change the structure of drug testing in U.S. horse racing, the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium (RMTC) board of directors has approved the formation of a committee to oversee the implementation of the Drug Testing Initiative (DTI) Task Force recommendations on quality assurance and laboratory accreditation programs for U.S. horse racing drug testing laboratories.
Thursday, October 01, 2009
A seminar focused on drug testing and the prosecution of a medication case will be the focus of the Racing Officials Accreditation Programfs second annual Officiating Horse Racing Conference at the University of Arizona Race Track Industry Programfs Symposium on Racing and Gaming.
Friday, September 18, 2009
The Association of Racing Commissioners International is looking at extending the cutoff time for use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in racehorses beyond 24 hours prior to a race, but horsemen's groups claim the action is premature.
Wednesday, August 05, 2009
A Maryland harness track July 15 was denied a temporary restraining order to force TrackNet Media Group and 15 other racetracks to provide it with Thoroughbred signals.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Chances are many more officials in the horse racing industry support uniform regulations a lot more than they support uniform penalties -- at least beyond a literal interpretation.
Monday, December 08, 2008
With revenue from slot machines probably a few years away, Thoroughbred racing in Maryland will continue in no-frills mode for the immediate future.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Following the Oct. 15 unveiling of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association's Safety and Integrity Alliance, four of the organization's principle figures were on hand to further explain their roles and the details of the equine health and safety reform plan, which will be implemented gradually over the next two years.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
The Racing Medication and Testing Consortium is developing a five-prong plan to implement equine drug-testing standards similar to those used by the World Anti-Doping Agency.
Friday, September 26, 2008
The horseracing industry will continue with a serious push to enact reforms related to equine safety and drug testing, officials indicated Aug. 17 during and after The Jockey Club Round Table in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Racing medications and the future of the New York Racing Association were among the topics discussed Aug. 5 at the eighth Institute on Racing and Gaming Law in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Following a three-hour hearing that resulted in the reduction of Eclipse Award-winning jockey Jeremy Rose's suspension from six months to 90 days, attorney Alan Foreman and Bernard Daney, chairman of the Delaware Thoroughbred Racing Commission, reflected on the outcome.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Churchill Downs Inc. said May 15 it reached an agreement with Maryland horsemen that will permit Calder Race Course to take Pimlico Race Course's signal May 16-17, including the Preakness Stakes (gr. I).
Thursday, May 15, 2008
The Maryland racing industry is throwing its support behind a campaign for slot machines, but it remains to be seen whether any racetracks would get the gambling devices should the public approve a statewide ballot measure in November.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
The Maryland Racing Commission remains committed to regulating anabolic steroids in racehorses, but will delay implementation of a model rule given questions about the rule itself and laboratory testing procedures.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
The head of a major horsemen's group in the United States has proposed a national approach for regulation of anabolic steroids in racehorses with an implementation date of Jan. 1, 2009.
Friday, January 11, 2008
Eight horsemen?s groups from around the United States have joined together to form a coalition designed to improve racing economics, specifically in the area of generating more purse revenue from interstate simulcasts.
Thursday, December 06, 2007
Maryland racing interests are optimistic over passage of legislation to authorize a statewide referendum on slot machines in November 2008, but they indicated there remains a need for financial relief before the slots measure even comes up for a vote.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Regulations ultimately resulting in a race-day ban on anabolic steroids most likely will be in place in many states in the Mid-Atlantic region by April 1, 2008.
Friday, October 12, 2007
The New York Racing Association will again raises purses, this time for the 45-day Aqueduct fall meet that begins Oct. 24 and runs through Dec. 30. Projected purses will be the highest in recent memory for the fall meet.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Though questions persist about TrackNet Media Group, the entity formed by Churchill Downs Inc. and Magna Entertainment Corp. to buy and sell simulcast signals, it has generated an initial positive response from one of the country's major horsemen's groups.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Maryland lawmakers again addressed the issue of racetrack slot machines in committee March 6, but passage of legislation is hardly assured.
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Representatives of horsemen's groups criticized for not supporting the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund questioned jockeys' support for the fund and said pursuit of legislation that would amend the Interstate Horseracing Act has damaged relations between horsemen and jockeys.
Monday, December 18, 2006
Members of the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium are expected to recommend regulation of anabolic steroids in racehorses, but the timetable for the regulations remains up in the air.
Monday, December 04, 2006
They may not agree on how to get there, but industry representatives expressed willingness Oct. 17 to examine the jockey insurance issue and work together on solutions.
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
The NTRA Charities Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund announced it has disbursed $56,121 to more than 50 former riders who are permanently disabled as a result of injuries sustained while riding at North American racetracks.
Monday, June 05, 2006
D.G. Van Clief Jr., president of Breeders' Cup since 1996 and commissioner of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association since late summer of 2004, will retire from both positions by the end of this year.
Thursday, April 27, 2006
Principals in the Maryland horse racing and breeding industry have struck a major agreement on issues that have stymied progress in the state and led lawmakers and regulators to often claim the industry is in disarray.
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Industry officials have expressed some discomfort with a lawmaker's plan to introduce legislation that would amend the Interstate Horseracing Act of 1978 to provide funds for workers' compensation insurance for jockeys.
Sunday, March 19, 2006
Maryland Jockey Club president Joe De Francis presented a new proposal to horsemen and breeders the week of Dec. 12 and said he believes the three sides are near a deal for 2006 racing dates. Horsemen and breeders, however, said it's not a done deal.
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
It appears another Maryland Racing Commission meeting will come and go Tuesday without an agreement between Magna Entertainment Corp, horsemen and breeders on a plan for the 2006 racing season in the state.
Friday, December 09, 2005
The Racing Medication and Testing Consortium expects to have enough money to carry it through 2006, but an official with the group indicated it's imperative more racetrack and horsemen's associations commit funds to the organization.
Saturday, October 22, 2005
The Board of Directors of the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium (RMTC) commissioned Dr. Rick Sams of Ohio State to develop an action plan, timeline, and research priorities to establish guidelines for withdrawal times for therapeutic medications commonly used by racetrack veterinarians.
Friday, October 21, 2005
Racing officials have expressed little hope a conflict between regulators and horsemen can be resolved in time to salvage the plan for Monmouth Park to become the first New Jersey racetrack to host a Breeders' Cup.
Tuesday, March 29, 2005
Regulators in the Mid-Atlantic region, who have been working together for years on uniform medication rules, agreed Jan. 20 to endorse the model medication and drug testing policy devised by the national Racing Medication and Testing Consortium.
Friday, January 21, 2005
The National Thoroughbred Racing Association working group on insurance, members of which were named Nov. 16, will hold its first meeting Nov. 22.
Tuesday, November 16, 2004
Though regulators on Dec. 10 will examine a proposal for a national medication and drug-testing policy, release of the document to the public hinges on how well it is received during the meeting.
Wednesday, November 26, 2003
The first indication a deal might be worked out to keep Pimlico's stable open for the winter emerged Tuesday. Meetings took place between horsemen's leadership and track management in a Baltimore office and between horsemen's leadership and angry Pimlico backstretch workers in the Pimlico track kitchen.
Wednesday, November 19, 2003
In the continuing dispute over the Maryland Jockey Club's closing of the Pimlico stables for the winter, the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association has voted to try to stop the MJC from simulcasting out-of-state races.
Friday, November 14, 2003
After years of dipping into purse accounts to meet expenses, the New York Racing Association has, under pressure from horsemen, opened a new account that will be solely for maintaining purse winnings.
Wednesday, November 12, 2003
The Maryland Racing Commission voted Tuesday not to intervene in the Maryland Jockey Club's decision to close the Pimlico stables for the winter. The 6-2 vote set off a flurry of angry responses from horsemen aimed primarily at Tom McDonough, commission chairman.
Wednesday, November 12, 2003
By Ray Paulick -- As a move toward uniform drug rules progresses, it's obvious that no policy will please everyone.
Tuesday, August 12, 2003
Mid-Atlantic regulators and the Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association are scheduled to meet June 12 in New Jersey to discuss medication and drug-testing issues on a regional and national scope.
Tuesday, June 10, 2003
The Racing Medication and Testing Consortium is scheduled to meet Feb. 4 in Atlanta, Ga., to hammer out details of its structure and further develop its policy statement.
Friday, January 31, 2003
The Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association hopes to launch a for-profit, televised racing series with the assistance of Breeders' Cup and the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, but it could be 2004 before the series has legs.
Tuesday, September 17, 2002
The seven-month racing series known as Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred Championships (MATCH) will not take place this year because of turmoil in two key racing states.
Friday, April 26, 2002
The Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred Championships, a series of stakes tied together to reward the top horses by division in the region, is on hold pending resolution of racing schedules in Maryland and New Jersey, said Alan Foreman, who created MATCH in the late 1990s. Foreman, chief executive officer of the Maryland-based Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, is hopeful something can be worked out soon.
Tuesday, February 26, 2002
Setting a national policy for racehorse medication is a vital step for the sport's long-term health, a top industry executive told the 2002 Harness Racing Congress in Las Vegas, Nev., Feb. 20.
Wednesday, February 20, 2002
Participants at Tuesday's Racehorse Medication Summit in Tucson, Ariz., reached a consensus on medication, drug-testing, security, and enforcement, but said much of any future policy depends on scientific determinations. The group of about 30 industry officials did agree on the need for a uniform medication policy and decision levels for therapeutic medications, but specifics weren't discussed.
Tuesday, December 04, 2001
The Kentucky Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association has taken issue with the conduct of the state's Equine Drug Council and has asked the Kentucky Racing Commission to make sure the council complies with regulations.
Tuesday, November 27, 2001
The Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association on Nov. 27 issued a list of recommendations that call for a restructuring of medication use and drug testing procedures in horse racing. Among them are formation of a non-profit consortium that would be funded via a per-start fee for every Thoroughbred, Standardbred, and Quarter Horse.
Tuesday, November 27, 2001
