Eastern tracks seek tighter restrictions for clenbuterol

A working group of horse racing constituencies in seven states along the eastern seaboard will push to ban the use of the bronchial dilator clenbuterol without a prescription from the horse’s veterinarian and approval from regulatory authorities, the group said on Tuesday.

The group, which represents racing interests in Delaware, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia, said that the new rules will “significantly restrict the use of clenbuterol,” which can have muscle-building effects if used regularly in horses. The drug has faced increasing restrictions on its use for a decade, after the muscle-building impact became common knowledge and inquiries revealed a prevalent use of the drug among horsemen.

Current rules in the seven jurisdictions represented by the group ban the use of the drug within 14 days of a race, and the ban is enforced with a threshold level of 140 picograms per milliliter of blood plasma in post-race samples. Under the new rules, the threshold level will be eliminated, and any horse that receives treatment with the drug will need to notify the state veterinarian about the administration.

If a horse is administered the drug, the horse will be placed on the veterinarian’s list and will not be eligible to start in a race until tests have indicated that no trace of clenbuterol remains in the horse’s system. The horse will also need to have a supervised workout before being entered to race.

“Clenbuterol should not be administered to racehorses without a legitimate treatment plan and a proper diagnosis,” said Dr. Scott Palmer, the equine medical director of the New York Gaming Commission. “This new rule will eliminate the improper use of clenbuterol.”

The new rules are identical to a recommendation for clenbuterol regulation that was released last week from a coalition of racing companies seeking changes to regulations. That group includes racing companies in most major racing states, including Maryland and New York.

The Mid-Atlantic group includes representatives of horsemen from all seven states within the cooperative.

In a release, the group said that Maryland began the formal adoption process for the new clenbuterol rules last week, and that New York will begin that process in November. The group will push for full adoption in all seven states throughout 2021, the release said.