CHRB Advances Injection Disclosures for Claimed Horses

[Wandering Eyes]

The mandatory disclosure of any intra-articular injections that a horse has had within 60 days might soon be a requirement when a horse changes hands via a claim in California.

The California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) advanced this proposed new rule at its monthly meeting on Thursday by a unanimous 4-0 vote. The measure will now be open for a 45-day public comment period before the board can again take a vote on its full adoption.

Under the supervision of the official CHRB veterinarian, the attending veterinarian who previously treated the claimed horse will be provided the proper paperwork, which then must be completed and passed along to the veterinarian retained by the horse’s new owner. The reporting of this injection info must be completed within five days of the claim.

The proposed rule is an offshoot from an April CHRB agenda item that initially pertained to the transfer of “all existing veterinary medical records” for claimed horses.

But after hearing input from trainers and veterinarians at that meeting, and later tweaking the idea via amendments within a July 20 Medication and Track Safety Committee meeting, the board on Thursday opted to move forward with a streamlined initiative that includes only the records of joint injections.

The information that a vet must provide would include line items for the date, location, structure (joint), and the names of any combo or single medications injected.

Prior to Thursday’s vote, one proposed version of the form also had an “optional” section in which a vet could list immunizations and the horse’s history of surgeries, de-wormings, tie-ups, colic, and bleeding.

But CHRB equine medical director Rick Arthur, DVM, advised against including that section because if a vet provided that info without first asking permission from the horse’s owner, Arthur said it could be considered a violation of veterinary confidentiality.

“Maybe we’ll revisit it at another time once people get comfortable with [the new paperwork],” Arthur added.

In separate CHRB business, chairman Chuck Winner updated board members on progress by the Race Dates Committee toward finalizing the 2019 schedule for the state.

That committee, Winner said, agreed to recommend to the full CHRB board a southern California schedule that would be “very similar to the dates this year.” That’s because the SoCal racks have already agreed to a “three-year rollover to be approved on an annual basis by the board.”

The only minor difference, Winner said, would involve Del Mar Thoroughbred Club moving one week of its 2019 November/December meet to accommodate the running of the Nov. 1-2 Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita Park.

“As far as northern California–as usual–there is not agreement,” Winner said. “There are a few issues that are outstanding with respect to northern California race dates. Most of them are similar to issues that have occurred in prior years.”

NorCal stabling conflicts and squabbling over the length and timing of individual meets have been significant sticking points among the region’s commercial track operators and fairs licensees in recent years.

“We hope to get those resolved, as usual,” Winner said. “I always encourage the various stakeholders to work together to see if they can resolve the issues so that the board doesn’t have to make those changes by mandate.”

 

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