The National Thoroughbred Racing Association delivered a generally favorable, much-anticipated report by its Task Force on Racing Integrity and Drug Testing at the 49th annual Jockey Club Round Table conference in Saratoga Springs on August 19.

"We still need to do more rigorous testing, but the patterns that we've seen seem to indicate that racing is relatively clean," said Jim Gallagher, the task force's executive director. "The samples were more than 98% for Class 1, 2, and 3 drugs under the RCI (Association of Racing Commissioners International) guidelines, but we need to close the gap. We have to be sure that the labs that are out there can at least perform these tests so that we don't have to worry about certain drugs that we have seen."

The NTRA's Supertest, which began in April 2000, examined 1,800 samples that had been declared free of prohibited substances from 28 of the 32 participating jurisdictions that conduct Thoroughbred racing.

To date, the task force has analyzed 1,272 of the samples. State-of-the-art testing conducted at Cornell University and the University of California at Davis revealed 98.3% of the samples free of Class 1, 2, and 3 drugs.

Twenty-two positives were found: two Class 1s, two Class 2s, and 18 Class 3s. Clenbuterol, used to treat horses suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, accounted for half of the Class 3 positives. Most states allow clenbuterol, as long as it is not used in a specified number of days before a horse races.

The cutoff deadline for clenbuterol use varies from state to state and is symptomatic of drug testing's major problem, according to task force member Paul Oreffice. "There are too many states with too many different standards," he said. "We lack a national drug testing policy. We have 32 different ones. It simply does not work when our horses compete all over the country."

Other positives uncovered by the Supertest were: one for Class 2 buspirone, a medication prescribed for humans to moderate anxiety and nervous tension; one for Class 2 caffeine; three for Class 3 clonidine, used in humans to treat high blood pressure and attention deficit disorder; one for Class 1 cocaine; one for Class 1 dextromoramide, a synthetic analogue of methadone (also used in humans to treat pain and drug addictions); four for Class 3 guanabenz, used for humans with high blood pressure; and two for Class 3 tripelennamine, an antihistamine.

Oreffice said that chromatography (TLC) tests are outdated, but are still being used by 30 of 32 states, and that enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA) tests are more reliable. Oreffice also said that changing technology had changed the meaning of zero-tolerance levels.

Gallagher said he hopes the Supertest provides the industry with a "foundation upon which to build. We want to know what drugs are out there and which ones we are missing."

Task force proposals

Specifically, the task force made five recommendations:

• Jurisdictions should use more rigorous screening processes. Jurisdictions should transition away from TLC tests and rely more on ELISA and instrumental testing methods; rotate and develop more ELISA tests; and form cooperative alliances for the purchase of drug testing kits.
• Jurisdictions should reassess medication rules and enforcement policies in light of new and more sophisticated testing technologies. Medication rules and enforcement policies should be reassessed, and research should be done to determine the role permitted medications may play in interfering with the detection of prohibited substances.
• The racing industry should support the development of withdrawal guidelines for commonly administered therapeutic medications. An alliance of industry leaders should determine if, when, and how withdrawal times can be made for specific therapeutic medications.
• A national external quality-assurance program for drug testing laboratories should be established. The performance of laboratories should be monitored by a consortium of industry leaders, including racing commissions, laboratory analysts, and national racing organizations. A list of substances to be tested for should be established and programs developed to document and verify the accuracy and reliability of testing methods.
• A national organization should be created to implement improvements in drug testing and provide leadership in jurisprudence and public communication practices relating to drug testing issues. The organization should represent regulators, owners, trainers, racetracks, veterinarians, and drug testing researchers, and implement recommendations outlined in the task force report.

  Judicial and drug testing research between states and racing jurisdictions should be coordinated. Judicially sound practices relating to public disclosure of suspected medication violations should be implemented, and a distinction should be made between a horse getting a positive test for an illegal amount or an illegal administration of a legal drug and the use of an illegal drug.

Racing deregulation

NTRA Commissioner Tim Smith said the purpose of the NTRA presentations at the Round Table conference was to "focus attention on drug testing, attract national sponsors, and make a fundamental change in the way racing is taxed."

"Unlike other businesses in the (United States), racetracks are currently taxed on their gross revenues, the handle, as opposed to their income, the takeout," NTRA Deputy Commissioner Greg Avioli said. "This unusual tax structure effectively limits tracks' abilities to price and market their product, and needs to be changed to allow racing to compete more effectively with other forms of sports and entertainment."

Lou Guth, senior vice president of National Economic Research Associates, said, "Thoroughbred racing is the most regulated industry in the country. It's time to deregulate the industry. We're talking about a small change but a world of difference."

To facilitate that change, the NTRA offered to help four to six states directly in passing enabling legislation. "What is being launched today is that the NTRA is offering to be a partner," NTRA Commissioner Tim Smith said. "The NTRA will be a catalyst. One of the key lessons learned is that we are a big, important regulated industry with far greater grass-roots political and legislative needs and capabilities than previously recognized. We can and should and will be doing even more in the legislative arena. It is one of those areas where there is strength in numbers."

Jockey Club Chairman Ogden Mills "Dinny" Phipps said the existing tax structure denies racing "the freedom to compete. In effect, we're not allowed to compete on a level playing field."

National sponsors

Regarding national sponsorship of racing, D. G. Van Clief Jr., president of Breeders' Cup Ltd. and vice chairman of the NTRA, said, "We need more fully engaged national sponsors. We need more Visas. We believe we have just scratched the surface." He said the Breeders' Cup, by working with the New York Racing Association, will produce a record amount of pre-event publicity before this year's Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships at Belmont Park on October 27.

Van Clief, as well as NTRA Senior Vice President of Media and Sponsorship Chip Campbell, believe the Breeders' Cup recent repackaging as the Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championship is a positive development.

"Re-branding the Breeders' Cup as the World Thoroughbred Championship is a step in the right direction," said Campbell, who was previously with the Professional Golf Association. "Racing needs to do a better job of connecting the dots."