The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority has submitted a document to the Federal Trade Commission classifying nearly 1,400 substances as either banned or controlled, a list that will form the foundation for the authority’s medication and anti-doping enforcement program. In a statement, HISA said that the document was submitted to the FTC on Oct. 13 following a “consultation period” with racing constituents. The document was expected to be submitted to the FTC alongside the rules governing medication violations and adjudications when those regulations were filed in mid-August, but HISA had said then that the list needed further revision. The list was first released to the racing industry in July, and it was immediately met with a torrent of feedback from trainers and veterinarians. :: Bet the Breeders' Cup with a $200 First Deposit Match and FREE Formulator PPs. Join DRF Bets. Adolpho Birch, the chair of the HISA unit that is overseeing the development of the authority’s Anti-Doping and Medication Control Program, said in a memo to racing industry constituencies that there were four “key modifications” to the document that was first released in July, dealing with rules pertaining to anti-ulcer medications; violations for the findings of multiple non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; the regulation of methocarbamol and glycopyrrolate, which were initially listed as banned; and the continued use and regulation of procaine penicillin. “The Prohibited Substances List is the result of extensive consultation with industry and subject-matter experts and is informed by established research,” Birch said, in a separate statement. Birch called the document the “backbone” of the authority’s ADMC Program. All of HISA’s rules are expected to go into effect on Jan. 1, including the classification document. Under the legislation that created HISA, the FTC must post the rules for public comment and then direct HISA to approve, modify, or strike the rules. The HISA classification list is substantially similar to the classification scheme already in use in nearly every U.S. racing jurisdiction, though the definitions behind the classifications have changed. While the racing industry had used the term “prohibited” for many hundreds of drugs or substances, HISA uses the term “banned,” and under that definition, any discovery of a banned substance, whether as a result of testing or a finding of the substance on the grounds of a licensed racing facility, will result in a violation. A ”controlled” substance in the classification list can be used by veterinarians but only within restrictions, akin to a “regulated” substance under the existing classification scheme. For those substances, the classification list provides a “detection time,” which is the time after administration that a laboratory can detect a concentration of the drug that is in violation of a rule. Controlled substances are further divided into A, B, and C “penalty classifications,” with A class substances bringing harsher penalties to licensees than C class substances. While some states provide so-called “withdrawal guidelines” to assist veterinarians and horsemen as to when a specific dose of a therapeutic drug can be administered to a horse without typically resulting in a violation, the HISA classification document does not include a single reference to a guideline. The classification scheme also includes a subcategory of “specified substances,” which are those substances that are known environmental contaminants, whether banned or controlled. The HISA rules submitted in August lay out special procedures for dealing with potential environmental contaminants, including additional investigation procedures to follow before issuing penalties to licensees. Even in cases of environmental contamination, horses will be automatically disqualified from their races under the new HISA rules, as is the case for any medication violation under HISA. Under existing rules in some states, some medication violations for regulated substances do not automatically result in a disqualification. A division of HISA, the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit, will administer the authority’s anti-doping and medication control program. That unit is run by Drug Free Sport, a private company that HISA contracted with to run the program. Drug Free Sport also conducts the drug-testing and enforcement programs for several major professional sports, including the NFL and MLB. “Effective anti-doping programs require clear guidance on prohibited substances, and we are pleased with the document that was submitted to the FTC,” said Ben Mosier, who is the executive director of the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.