Track Offers Bonus to Medication-Free Winners

Arapahoe Park has announced it has created a "Race-Day Medication-Free Incentive" program to reward horsemen who do not administer race-day medication to their horses.

The Aurora, Colo., track said that beginning June 27 trainers who win a race with a horse void of any race-day medication will receive a $1,000 bonus per victory to be paid from a special fund created by Arapahoe Park. Trainers must be stabled at Arapahoe Park for the entire meet to be eligible for the bonuses. The bonuses will be paid out at the end of the season that concludes on Aug. 17.

In a release, Arapahoe said the "Race-Day Medication-Free Incentive" is being launched to encourage trainers to go beyond the letter of the law that permits only Salix (Lasix), phenylbutazone ("Bute"), flunixin, and ketoprofen on race day in Colorado.

"The future of racing is going to be race-day medication-free, and we at Arapahoe Park want to be ahead of the curve," said Bruce Seymore, executive director of Mile High Racing and Entertainment, the parent company of Arapahoe Park. "We in Colorado already have one of the strictest testing procedures in the country. This new Race-Day Medication-Free Incentive allows us to continue to improve our standards."