Iowa Code § 99D.25 — IA Code / Title III / Chapter 99D / Section 99D.25
Drugging or numbing — exception — tests — reports — penalties.
Status: in_force

(1) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires:

(1) (a) “Drugging” means administering to a horse or dog any substance foreign to the natural horse or dog prior to the start of a race. However, in counties with a population of two hundred fifty thousand or more, “drugging” does not include administering to a horse the drugs furosemide and phenylbutazone in accordance with section 99D.25A and rules adopted by the commission.

(1) (b) “Numbing” means the applying of a freezing device or substance to the limbs of a horse or dog within two hours before the start of a race, or a surgical or other procedure which was, at any time, performed in which the nerves of a horse or dog were severed, destroyed, injected, or removed. For purposes of this paragraph, ice is not a freezing device or substance.

(1) (c) “Entered” means that a horse or dog has been registered as a participant in a specified race, and not withdrawn prior to presentation of the horse or dog for inspection and testing.

(2) The general assembly finds that the practice of drugging or numbing a horse or dog prior to a race:

(2) (a) Corrupts the integrity of the sport of racing and promotes criminal fraud in the sport;

(2) (b) Misleads the wagering public and those desiring to purchase a horse or dog as to the condition and ability of the horse or dog;

(2) (c) Poses an unreasonable risk of serious injury or death to the rider of a horse and to the riders of other horses competing in the same race; and

(2) (d) Is cruel and inhumane to the horse or dog so drugged or numbed.

(3) The following conduct is prohibited:

(3) (a) The entering of a horse or dog in a race by the trainer or owner of the horse or dog if the trainer or owner knows or if by the exercise of reasonable care the trainer or owner should know that the horse or dog is drugged or numbed;

(3) (b) The drugging or numbing of a horse or dog with knowledge or with reason to believe that the horse or dog will compete in a race while so drugged or numbed. However, the commission may by rule establish permissible trace levels of substances foreign to the natural horse or dog that the commission determines to be innocuous;

(3) (c) The willful failure by the operator of a racing facility to disqualify a horse or dog from competing in a race if the operator has been notified that the horse or dog is drugged or numbed, or was not properly made available for tests or inspections as required by the commission; and

(3) (d) The willful failure by the operator of a racing facility to prohibit a horse or dog from racing if the operator has been notified that the horse or dog has been suspended from racing.

(4) The owners of a horse or dog and their agents and employees shall permit a member of the commission or a person employed or appointed by the commission to make tests as the commission deems proper in order to determine whether a horse or dog has been improperly drugged. The fact that purse money has been distributed prior to the issuance of a test report shall not be deemed a finding that no chemical substance has been administered unlawfully to the horse or dog earning the purse money. The findings of the commission that a horse or dog has been improperly drugged by a narcotic or other drug are prima facie evidence of the fact. The results of the tests shall be kept on file by the commission for at least one year following the tests.

(5) Every horse which suffers a breakdown on the racetrack, in training, or in competition, and is destroyed, and every other horse which expires while stabled on the racetrack under the jurisdiction of the commission, shall undergo a postmortem examination by a veterinarian or a veterinary pathologist at a time and place acceptable to the commission veterinarian to determine the injury or sickness which resulted in euthanasia or natural death. Test samples may be obtained from the carcass upon which the postmortem examination is conducted and shall be sent to a laboratory approved by the commission for testing for foreign substances and natural substances at abnormal levels. When practical, blood and urine test samples should be procured prior to euthanasia. The owner of the deceased horse is responsible for payment of any charges due to conduct the postmortem examination. A record of every postmortem shall be filed with the commission by the veterinarian or veterinary pathologist who performed the postmortem within seventy-two hours of the death. Each owner and trainer accepts the responsibility for the postmortem examination provided herein as a requisite for maintaining the occupational license issued by the commission.

(6) Any horse which in the opinion of the commission veterinarian has suffered a traumatic injury or disability such that a controlled program of phenylbutazone administration would not aid in restoring the racing soundness of the horse shall not be allowed to race while medicated with phenylbutazone or with phenylbutazone present in the horse’s bodily systems.

(7) A person found within or in the immediate vicinity of a security stall who is in possession of unauthorized drugs or hypodermic needles or who is not authorized to possess drugs or hypodermic needles shall, in addition to any other penalties, be barred from entry into any racetrack in Iowa and any occupational license the person holds shall be revoked.

(8) Before a horse is allowed to race using phenylbutazone, the veterinarian attending the horse shall certify to the commission the course of treatment followed in administering the phenylbutazone.

(9) The commission shall conduct random tests of bodily substances of horses entered to race each day of a race meeting to aid in the detection of any unlawful drugging. The tests may be conducted both prior to and after a race. The commission may also test any horse that breaks down during a race and shall perform an autopsy on any horse that is killed or subsequently destroyed as a result of an accident during a race. When practical, blood and urine test samples should be procured prior to euthanasia.

(10) Veterinarians must submit daily to the commission veterinarian on a prescribed form a report of all medications and other substances which the veterinarian prescribed, administered, or dispensed for horses registered at a current race meeting. A logbook detailing other professional services performed while on the grounds of a racetrack shall be kept by veterinarians and shall be made immediately available to the commission veterinarian or the stewards upon request.

(11) A person who violates this section is guilty of a class “D” felony.

83 Acts, ch 187, §25; 88 Acts, ch 1137, §5 – 12; 94 Acts, ch 1100, §3, 4; 2004 Acts, ch 1136, §20 – 22, 65; 2007 Acts, ch 48, §1, 7; 2008 Acts, ch 1032, §189; 2017 Acts, ch 73, §1, 4