Remington Park to begin pre-race vet exams and a new integrity policy

Remington Park in Oklahoma City is instituting a pre-race veterinary examination program and refusing entries from horsemen currently serving suspensions for Class 1 or Class 2 drug violations in new policies to be launched with the start of its Quarter Horse meet March 8. The policies announced Tuesday will also be in place for the Thoroughbred meet at Remington, according to track spokesperson Dale Day.

“This is going to be standard policy year-round for our racing program at Remington Park,” he said.

All horses racing at Remington will be subject to prerace examinations at the discretion of stewards or the state veterinarian in a joint program with the Oklahoma Racing Commission. In addition, all horses in randomly selected overnight races will undergo prerace exams. The number of races selected each day is to be determined. Also, during the Quarter Horse meet, exams will be conducted on all futurity and derby finalists, as well as all participants in the track’s Grade 1 races.

Remington’s new integrity policy calls for the track’s racing office staff to “not knowingly accept” entries from any horsemen on suspended lists for Class 1 or Class 2 drug violations. The policy extends to unresolved positive tests, whether uncontested or not yet adjudicated but confirmed in a split sample. Such horsemen will also be denied access to the grounds at Remington.

“We are committed to ensuring that the racing programs we conduct reflect the highest standards of safety and integrity,” Scott Wells, president of Remington, said in a release. “Toward that end, any horsemen on the suspended list from either the American Quarter Horse Association or The Jockey Club will not be allotted stalls, nor allowed to participate in any way at Remington Park.”

Remington’s meet for Quarter Horses runs through June 2. The Thoroughbred meet opens Aug. 16 and runs through Dec. 15.