RMTC poses restrictions on bisphosphonates, NSAIDs

A racing medication advisory group has approved recommendations that would limit the use of a class of drugs called bisphosphonates to horses that are at least four years old and that would restrict the use of any non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug to at least 48 hours prior to a race, according to the group, the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium.

The rule on bisphosphonates seeks the elimination of the drugs for any off-label uses, under the belief that the drugs may have harmful effects on young horses by interfering with normal bone-modeling processes. Bisphosphonates are currently approved by the FDA to treat navicular disease in horses four years old or older, but anecdotal evidence has suggested that breeders and horsemen were using the drug off-label in younger horses for sales prep or to reduce inflammation.

Bisphosphonate use became a subject of intense scrutiny earlier this year due to the possible association of use of the drugs with a spate of catastrophic breakdowns at Santa Anita that drew widespread attention from the media. Though racing regulatory bodies were already in the process of reviewing the off-label use of the drugs, the breakdowns in California put the issue on the front burner for the RMTC, an industry-funded group that studies medications and drugs and recommends policies to racing commissions.

“Our Scientific Advisory Committee felt strongly that until there is research that proves otherwise, limiting the administration of bisphosphonates to horses four years of age or older and ensuring that the administration is done in accordance with label requirements are vital to protecting the welfare of our equine athletes,” said Dr. Mary Scollay, the executive director of the RMTC.

Earlier this year, sales companies announced a policy that would allow buyers to void any sale for a horse younger than 4 that tests positive for bisphosphonates. Other groups had also urged a ban on the off-label use of the drugs.

The RMTC also approved a recommendation that would ban the use of certain painkillers 48 hours prior to a race. That change has also been sought by multiple constituencies in racing in the wake of the Santa Anita crisis. Currently, most racing jurisdictions allow the administration of one non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug within 24 hours and 48 hours of a race, with all others banned within 48 hours of race.

The new policy would also treat any detection of two or more NSAIDs as a violation. Current rules allow for the detection of two NSAIDs, but within strict regulatory limits, a policy that is meant to prevent “stacking,” which is using two or more of the drugs to get a more potent painkilling effect.

The new rules on NSAIDs, as well as the penalty guidelines for any violations, still need to be formulated into model rules, the RMTC said. The rules on bisphosphonates have already been formulated, and will be forwarded to the Association of Racing Commissioners International, an umbrella group for individual state racing commissions. The ARCI has already said that it supports a ban on off-label use of bisphosphonates.

Model rules approved by the ARCI are then sent to individual racing commissions with the strong recommendation that all the jurisdictions put the rules into place.