New Mexico bans clenbuterol for Thoroughbreds, Quarter Horses

The New Mexico Racing Commission on Wednesday amended a rule on the use of the controversial bronchodilator clenbuterol, banning the drug for Quarter Horses and Thoroughbreds, effective immediately.

The new rule will put in place a zero-tolerance policy for the drug, which has been widely abused in Quarter Horse racing, particularly in New Mexico. The new policy aligns with a recommendation by the American Quarter Horse Association, which announced late last year that it would push states with Quarter Horse racing to ban clenbuterol by the start of 2016, citing its concern over widespread abuse.

For the past year, New Mexico has enforced a 14-day withdrawal time on clenbuterol as part of the adoption of a uniform medication policy recommended by national racing groups. While the old policy allowed for miniscule concentrations of the drug to appear in post-race samples, the new policy will treat any finding in a post-race sample as a positive.

Vince Mares, executive director of the state racing commission, said Wednesday that the previous rule allowing for a 14-day withdrawal period would apply to samples collected after races until Aug. 19. After that, all samples with any trace of clenbuterol would be treated as a violation.

Clenbuterol is a powerful, fast-acting bronchodilator, but the primary concern among regulators is that the drug can be used to build muscle mass if administered regularly to horses. Over the past five years, most racing states, including New Mexico, have tightened restrictions on the drug to keep horsemen from administering clenbuterol on a schedule that would produce the muscle-building effect.

New Mexico has struggled to keep use of the drug under control. In 2012, the state racing commission enacted a 30-day withdrawal time for the drug for a term of one-year, which also served as a ban on the drug appearing in post-race samples. The ban was extended in 2013, but dropped in favor of the 14-day withdrawal time in early 2014.

One month ago, a horse co-owned by R.D. Hubbard, the owner of Ruidoso Downs, tested positive for clenbuterol following a May 29 qualifying race for the Mountain Top New Mexico Quarter Horse Futurity at Ruidoso. Hubbard has been an outspoken critic of medication abuse. The filly, who went on to win the Futurity two weeks later at Ruidoso before the positive had been detected, is trained by Michael Joiner, who had three other horses test positive for illegal levels of the drug.