&=
nbsp; SureBet Racing News (May 1, 2009)<=
span
style=3D'font-size:14.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt'> – The most famo=
us
Quarter Horse race in the country cracked the door open on the question of
whether New Mexico is leaving common sense behind by remaining a zero-toler=
ance
state for all drugs.
&=
nbsp; Now
the New Mexico Racing Commission – with a hefty push from several cir=
cles
– appears ready to end the state’s decades-long policy of
forbidding all controlled substances, regardless of how small the amount, f=
ound
in a race horse’s system.
&=
nbsp; If
nothing else, it’s no longer just food for thought.
The commission’s Medications Committee last
month approved a motion that calls for New Mexico to adopt threshold levels=
for
six environmental contaminants. The six are caffeine, cocaine, morphine,
It will probably take several months before the Racing Commission takes a final vote on whether to drop its zero-tolerance policy. The issue will next go before the commission’s Rules Committee for a vote. If it’s approved there, it goes before the full commission for a couple of readings and eventually a vote.<= o:p>
Suffice it to say, the final straw in what has b=
een
a much-debated issue for years was the caffeine found in All American Futur=
ity
winner Stolis Winner. It triggered a positive t=
est
and promptly delivered a black eye to the futurity on its 50th
anniversary year.
The caffeine positive remains a messy nightmare =
for
the trainer and owner of Stolis Winner and the =
New
Mexico Racing Commission, and it has prompted legal action by the owners of=
the
runner-up horse, Black Jet Patriot. And it’s convinced the commission=
to
take a more in-depth look at the role environmental contaminants – wh=
ich
are present all around us – can play in the horse racing business.
According to testimony at the stewards hearing on
the Stolis Winner case, the amount of caffeine =
found
in the horse ranged from 45 nanograms per milli=
liter
of blood to 125 nanograms per milliliter of uri=
ne.
Experts agree that’s a very small amount and supporters of threshold
levels say it’s not enough to enhance the performance of a horse in a
race.
But because New Mexico is a zero-tolerance state,
any amount found constitutes an automatic positive.
&=
nbsp; Attorneys
for Stolis Winner’s trainer, Heath Taylor=
, and
owner Jerry Windham, are appealing the decision by a board of stewards that
upheld the positive test. And they’ve indicated they will argue in the
appeal process that the positive test for caffeine was the result of
environmental contamination. Again, testimony at the stewards showed there =
was
food, soft drinks and other items containing caffeine present in the test b=
arn
area on the day of the All American Futurity.
&=
nbsp; The
membership on the Medications Committee is made up of a cross-section of the
racing community, including racing commissioners, veterinarians, horse owne=
rs
and track management. There was near unanimous support for the motion to
approve threshold levels for the above mentioned drugs, with Downs at
Albuquerque official and former State Racing Commission investigator Wayne
Conwell casting the only ``no’’ vote.
&=
nbsp; ``We’ve
discussed this problem for years now,’’ said Dr. Bob Story, a
longtime vet and supporter of threshold levels. ``It’s overdue for the
protection of our industry and our trainers and horsemen. We need to address
this issue in a logical manner like these other states have and get on the
wagon.’’
&=
nbsp; Then
in obvious reference to the Stolis Winner case,=
Story
noted: ``We’re under a microscope right now
nationally.’’
&=
nbsp; The
motion approved by the Medications Committee calls for threshold levels that
mirror those approved in Oklahoma last year. Those levels are: 100 nanograms per milliliter of urine for caffeine, morph=
ine
and strychnine; 150 nanograms per milliliter for
cocaine; 70 nanograms for =
atrophine
and 25 nanaograms for lido=
caine.
&=
nbsp; Numerous
other states have similar threshold levels in place. Among them are Califor=
nia,
Louisiana, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Oregon and Indiana.
&=
nbsp; If
the Racing Commission ultimately adopts those levels, a positive test would
result only if the post race urine sample showed the horse had in its system
any of the above drugs in amounts higher than the threshold numbers.
&=
nbsp; State
Racing Commission Vice Chairman Eddie Fowler has been the most vocal suppor=
ter
of keeping the zero-tolerance policy. But even he conceded it’s time =
to
revisit the issue. But he cautioned his fellow committee members that educa=
ting
the public is crucial to avoid the perception that drugs will be used on a
rampant basis in New Mexico horse racing.
&=
nbsp; ``The
big key here is how we present it to the public,’’ said Fowler.
``The average guy out here at the racetrack doesn’t know about
contamination levels. They hear cocaine and morphine and wonder, `my God,
what’s happening.’ We’ve got to stress environmental
contaminants in our industry to the public. Otherwise, we’re going to
fight a losing battle and it’s going to end up (with the public think=
ing)
they’re giving them (horses) everything but the kitchen
sink.’’
&=
nbsp; Rita
Danley, a horse owner and wife of trainer Fred =
Danley, noted that airline pilots are allowed to fly =
with
as much as 300 nanograms of cocaine in their sy=
stem.
&=
nbsp; ``The
testing that they use at WalMart for contaminat=
ion
levels are higher than what the horses can run with,’’ she said=
.
&=
nbsp; Pat
Bingham, the Executive Director for the New Mexico Horsemen’s
Association, said he believes that group will support threshold levels. He =
said
once a trainer gets a positive test, his career takes a hit, regardless of =
the
circumstances.
``How do you get your reputation back when the
(drug) level that comes back is so minimal that it would have no therapeuti=
c or
any other effect on the horse. I read where peop=
le are
now able to test things to the trillion of a part. It seems almost like sci=
ence
is getting so far ahead of itself that common sense gets left
behind,’’ said Bingham.
Sunland Park owner Stan Fulton also wants the st=
ate
to set threshold levels for environmental contaminants.
``It’s his opinion that the zero tolerance
policy is not working in this state and that we need to look at thresholds =
for
environmental contamination only,’’ Sunland General Manager Har=
old
Payne told his fellow Medications Committee members.
&=
nbsp;