by Tom Law

The Jockey Club’s Thoroughbred Safety Committee, formed five days after Eight Belles broke down shortly after finishing second in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1), issued its latest four recommendations to the Thoroughbred industry during the 56th annual Round Table Conference on Matters Pertaining to Racing on Sunday at the Gideon Putnam Resort in Saratoga Springs, New York.

Speaking to those assembled at the two-hour meeting dominated by issues related to medication regulations, drug testing, and equine safety, Safety Committee Chairman Stuart S. Janney III said that while a great deal of progress has been made in the short history of the committee, “there is still more work ahead of us.”

“The committee has been guided in its work by our desire to do what is right for the safety and well-being of the horse and rider, and by the need to change the public’s perception of our industry,” Janney said. “If the Eight Belles tragedy makes us all more cooperative, less inward-looking, more proactive, and more sensitive to how our sport is perceived by others, then Eight Belles may be viewed in years to come as one of the most important horses ever to step on a racetrack.”

The four new recommendations from the Safety Committee pertain to drug testing and laboratory standards, uniform penalties for drug rules and prohibited practices violations, bicarbonate or TCO2 testing, and a national system to report injuries during training and racing.

The new recommendations follow others in June that called for the elimination of steroids in race training and racing, a ban on toe grabs, and a series of whip-related reforms.

In addition to outlining the new recommendations, the Safety Committee updated the group on its progress through a series of presentations with industry officials and experts, including detailed remarks on the elimination of toe grabs by WinStar Farm co-owner Bill Casner; on medication issues by Rick Arthur, D.V.M., equine medical director of the California Horse Racing Board; and on the subject of soundness by committee member and noted equine surgeon Larry Bramlage, D.V.M.

The most pointed remarks of the proceedings came from Alan Foreman, chairman and chief executive officer of the Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association. Foreman called for additional reforms in drug testing, laboratory standards, consolidation of the drug testing lab system, and development of a new generation of scientists, toxicologists, and pharmacologists.

“I am here because I want to make a difference and encourage change,” Foreman said. “I thank the Jockey Club Safety Committee for giving me the opportunity over the past few weeks to express my views on this subject. I am encouraged by their strong interest. I am also encouraged by the positive response from horsemen across the country with whom I have shared these recommendations.

“Everyone in this room is the steward of a national treasure, a great sport, a great tradition. What began as a sport more than a century ago is now a diverse and dynamic industry that is a part of the history, economy, and social fabric of this country. We have an obligation to preserve and protect this institution for our next generation. If we don’t address this drug testing issue now and let it become a catalyst for what can be a change in the perception of our sport, then we may not have anything left to argue about.”

Tom Law is managing editor of Thoroughbred Times