HISA releases draft list of controlled, banned medications

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority has released a draft list of banned and controlled substances for public review and comment, along with a letter from the chairman of its medication control committee acknowledging that the list was informed by international standards that differ in many respects from regulations in use at U.S. racetracks.

The list, which provides the classifications for hundreds of substances, has become a source of concern for many horsemen because of the traditional tug-of-war between regulators and horsemen over what substances should be allowed to appear in post-race samples and those that should be strictly banned. Under HISA’s rules, all of the substances on the list are considered “prohibited,” but that category includes both “banned” substances and “controlled” substances. Controlled substances are those that are allowed to be administered within certain timeframes prior to a race.

The list also includes classifications for substances that have a “higher risk” of showing up in drug tests as the result of accidental contamination, a major source of concern for horsemen in how substances are regulated.

Earlier this month, the National Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, a group that is generally supportive of HISA, released an open letter that was highly critical of HISA’s failure to release the list in its latest batch of rules, which were posted in draft form in June and are scheduled to go into effect at the start of next year. That group has been urging HISA to use standards and classifications in place in the mid-Atlantic, rather than the international standards.

“Our comments are hamstrung by the continued failure of HISA to provide the industry with the list of controlled medications and guidance regarding their use,” the letter, which was also signed by horsemen’s organizations in Kentucky and California, along with the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association. “As we have few, if any, doping violations in racing and the vast majority of violations in racing involve the use of controlled therapeutic medications used for the benefit of the health, safety, and welfare of the horse, it is essential that we be provided with this information.”

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The letter accompanying the list, signed by Adolpho A. Birch, the chairman of HISA’s Anti-Doping and Medication Control Standing Committee, says that the list was developed by using the screening limits approved by the International Federation of Racing Authorities, a document that gives guidance to racing countries on how to treat banned and controlled substances. The legislation establishing HISA required the authority to use those standards as a baseline, Birch wrote.

“While the HISA Act requires that IFHA baselines we observed, it also permits deviations if recommended by the Anti-Doping and Medication Control Standing Committee, and approved by the Enforcement Agency,” Birch wrote. “Therefore, if you wish to suggest a change, please provide your rationale and any supporting scientific evidence so that it can be properly considered.”

Birch is the senior vice president of business affairs and chief legal counsel for the Tennessee Titans. Prior to that position, he oversaw the enforcement of the NFL’s substance-abuse and performance-enhancing drug policies.

Under its enabling legislation, HISA is required to post its rules for public comment prior to submission to the FTC, its federal overseer. HISA’s submission to the FTC can include recommendations based on those comments and changes to the original formulation of the rules. The FTC can accept, reject, or modify any of the changes. The classification list is expected to form the basis for how drugs are regulated under HISA’s authority, and they are expected to go into effect on Jan. 1, along with the rules regarding medication use and penalties for violations.

The “Enforcement Agency” referred to by Birch in his letter refers to Drug Free Sport International, a private company that administers medication and anti-doping programs for several high-profile sports. Drug Free Sport was hired after negotiations between HISA and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, a private, non-profit company, broke down late last year.

According to officials involved in the effort, part of the reason that the negotiations with USADA were unsuccessful was due to dissatisfaction among some members of the anti-doping committee over USADA’s classification of substances.