The Racing Medication and Testing Consortium board of directors took several actions March 17 intended to further the process toward the nationwide adoption of uniform medication rules, penalties, and testing.
Kentucky horsemen March 14 were given an overview of impending equine medication changes and also provided with a few tips to avoid headaches when the new regulations take effect later in the spring.
The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission on Dec. 11 approved changes to its withdrawal time guidelines for all racing breeds in line with the national uniform medication rules.
An initial introduction in Kentucky of the Mid-Atlantic Uniform Medication Program received raised eyebrows, but supporters of the changes are encouraged that the important racing state is giving the program consideration.
The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission approved a pair of recommendations from the Kentucky Equine Drug Research Council July 17, including a "Rapid Response" protocol to examine emerging illegal drugs.
The Kentucky Equine Drug Research Council will recommend measures to allow the state to more quickly take action when regulators become aware of emerging illegal substances.
Dr. Larry Bramalge is back as the AAEP on-call vet for the final Triple Crown race after sitting out the first two following an incident at Churchill Downs.
Dr. Larry Bramlage, a leading equine surgeon who suffered a head injury at Churchill Downs last week, could be released from the hospital Friday, May 10.
The American Association of Equine Practitioners announced that longtime on-call veterinarian Dr. Mary Scollay will serve as spokesperson for equine health during NBC Sports racing coverage at Churchill Downs.
Prominent equine surgeon Dr. Larry Bramlage was hospitalized May 2 after falling from the back of a golf cart and hitting his head in the barn area at Churchill Downs.
The National Thoroughbred Racing Association announced that Laurel Park has been fully accredited by the NTRA Safety and Integrity Alliance and that Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore has been re-accredited by the Alliance.
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Kentucky horsemen are losing patience with a new policy that requires regulatory veterinarians to administer furosemide on race day after mistakes have led to horses being scratched on consectutive race days at Churchill.
Kentucky Horse Racing Commission veterinarians have had a couple of mistakes as they work to carry out a new policy in which they apply race-day Salix, as opposed to private veterinarians.
The schedule shifts September racing dates from Turfway Park in Northern Kentucky to Churchill in Louisville. February will offer just four race dates in the state, at Turfway Park.
Speaking at the Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit at Keeneland, Mary Scollay, DVM, presented a 10-year study that indicated positive trends for pre-race exams in Florida.
A task force has determined the spate of fatal racehorse breakdowns at Aqueduct Racetrack this past winter was primarily the result of structural deficiencies in rules and regulations employed by NYRA and racing regulators.
The veterinary staff of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission has added some additional protocols to its operations in an effort to cut down on the number of equine fatalities at the state's tracks.
There doesn't seem to be any middle ground in the debate over the anti-bleeding drug furosemide, and it seems doubtful the two sides will come together any time soon.
When the equine medical director for Kentucky gave her monthly report at the March 14 meeting, it showed only one fatality since Dec. 1 at Turfway Park, the only track in the state conducting live racing during the period.
The chief state steward overseeing racing in Kentucky and several veterinarians testified June 29 that they saw nothing out of the ordinary with Life At Ten prior to her participation in the Ladies' Classic.
The National Thoroughbred Racing Association Safety and Integrity Alliance Professional Education Seminar will be held Tuesday, Oct. 19, at Keeneland.
The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission has approved new procedures that regulators say will streamline and reduce the cost of equine drug testing in the state by as much as 25-30%.
The rush to improve safety since Eight Belles was euthanized at last year's Kentucky Derby Presented By Yum! Brands (gr. I) did little to curb the number of horses dying at American racetracks in 2008, The Associated Press found in a national count.
The Jockey Club has launched the Equine Injury Database system that will provide the racing industry with its first national database of racing injuries. The Equine Injury Database grew out of a proposal first put forth at the Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit in Lexington in October 2006.
Gulfstream Park, in conjunction with the University of Florida (UF), announced the names of this year's three recipients from Gulfstream Park's $30,000 Barbaro Scholarship Program March 29.
Emphatic calls for change in dealing with horse racing injuries and related prevention methods were made April 24 during a panel discussion at the annual Association of Racing Commissioners International Conference in Jackson Hole, Wyo.
Edward P. Evans' homebred Christmas Kid stalked from second early in Saturday's $150,000 Davona Dale Stakes (gr. II) Saturday at Gulfstream Park, took command into the far turn, and drew clear to score by four lengths over High Again in the one-mile test for 3-year-old fillies.
Calder restricts training hours, racing entry of horses in two barns that may have been exposed to neurological form of equine herpesvirus type-1 (EHV-1). Regulations expected to last into early January.
Following the confirmed case of Equine Herpes Virus Type I in a horse that had been stabled at Calder earlier this month, the Miami track has taken action to avoid the spread of the potentially lethal airborne virus.
The Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit ended Tuesday in Lexington after more than 40 participants worked together to draft action plans in six areas to improve conditions in the Thoroughbred industry.
Though cases of strangles at Palm Meadows Training Center in South Florida appear to have been confined, the five positive tests for the equine bacterial infection set in motion a chain of events up and down the East Coast.
excerpt for week of Oct. 13.
