Louis Romanet, chairman of the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities, will focus on the importance of and need for international harmonization of medication policies in the keynote address at the Jockey Club’s 57th annual Round Table Conference on Matters Pertaining to Racing on August 23 in Saratoga Springs, New York.

Romanet has served as chairman of the IFHA since its creation in 1993 and was director general of France Galop from 1998 to 2007. The IFHA’s primary mission is to coordinate and harmonize the rules regarding breeding, racing, and wagering among its more than 50 member countries.

Romanet’s remarks will conclude a segment on domestic and international medication standards.

Stuart Janney III, chairman of the Jockey Club’s Thoroughbred Safety Committee, said earlier this year that American racing is out of step with the rest of the world in the area of permissive medication.

“We need to reconcile our drug policies on race-day administration of [Salix] and withdrawal times for therapeutic medications with the rest of the world,” Janney said in April.

That segment also include an overview of the regulatory process, presented by Joe Gorajec, executive director of the Indiana Horse Racing Commission and past chairman of the Association of Racing Commissioners International, and a progress report and new recommendations from the Thoroughbred Safety Committee, presented by Janney.

Scott Palmer, D.V.M., chairman of the American Association of Equine Practitioners’ Racing Task Force, will provide a veterinary perspective on medication, and Steven Crist, chairman and publisher of Daily Racing Form, will share insight on the way Thoroughbred racing medication issues are perceived by bettors, the public, and the media.

The first part of the conference will focus on the post-racing care of Thoroughbreds. Matt Iuliano, Jockey Club vice president of registration services, will provide an update on the Jockey Club’s tattoo identification services and retirement check-off program, and Diana Pikulski, executive director of the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation, will discuss the foundation’s vocational training program.

In a segment on equine safety, Mick Peterson, Ph.D., of the University of Maine will provide an update on the Racing Surfaces Testing Laboratory. Mike Ziegler, executive director of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association’s Safety and Integrity Alliance, will provide a progress report.