Nebraska Administrative Code › Topic - RACING COMMISSION, STATE › Title 294 - RULES AND REGULATIONS GOVERNING HORSE RACING › Chapter 18 - ILLEGAL AND CORRUPT PRACTICES › Section 294-18.011

Current through June 17, 2024
The trainer is the absolute insurer of the condition of
				  horses entered in an official workout or race and is responsible for the
				  presence of any prohibited drug or medication, or other prohibited substance in
				  such horses. A positive test for a prohibited substance, or the presence of
				  permitted medication in excess of maximum allowable levels, as reported by an
				  official laboratory approved by the commission shall be prima facie evidence of
				  a violation of this rule.
18.011.01
				Owners, assistant trainers, grooms, practicing veterinarians, or any other
				persons who cared for, or attended the horse may also be held responsible for
				any violation of this rule and be subject to the same penalties as the
				trainer.
18.011.02 Upon a finding
				of a violation, the stewards shall consider the currently established "Uniform
				Classification Guidelines for Foreign Substances", and the "Recommended
				Penalties promulgated by the Association of Racing Commissioners International
				(RCI) Drug Testing Standards and Practices (DTSP) and impose penalties and
				disciplinary measures consistent with the recommendations contained therein.
				The stewards shall also consult with the official veterinarian to determine the
				nature and seriousness of the laboratory finding or the medication violation
				and if the violation was a result of the administration of a therapeutic
				medication as documented in a practicing veterinarian's report received per
				Chapter 14.001.02 et. seq. Provided, however, that in the event a majority of
				the Stewards determine that mitigating circumstances require imposition of a
				lesser penalty they may impose the lesser penalty. In the event a majority of
				the Stewards wish to impose a greater penalty or a penalty in excess of the
				authority granted them, then, and in such event, they may impose the maximum
				penalty authorized and refer the matter to the Commission with specific
				recommendations for further action. In determining if there are mitigating
				circumstances surrounding a medication violation the stewards shall consider at
				least the following:
(1) The past record of
				the trainer in drug cases;
(2) The
				potential of the drug(s) to influence a horse's racing performance;
(3) The availability of the drug;
(4) Whether there is reason to believe the
				responsible party knew of the administration of the drug use;
(5) The steps taken by the trainer to
				safeguard the horse;
(6) The
				probability of environmental contamination or inadvertent exposure due to human
				drug use;
(7) The purse of the
				race;
(8) Whether the drug found
				was one for which the horse was receiving a treatment as determined by the
				Veterinarian Report(s), and;
(9)
				Whether there was any suspicious betting pattern in the race.
Association of Racing Commissioners
				  International
Drug Testing Standards and Practices
				  Program
Uniform Classification Guidelines for Foreign
				  Substances
(as Revised August 3, 2003)
The following outline describes the types of substances
				  placed in each category. This list shall be publicly posted in the offices of
				  the official veterinarian and the racing secretary.
Class 1
Opiates, opium derivatives, synthetic opioids, psychoactive
				  drugs, amphetamines and U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) scheduled I and II
				  drugs. Also found in this class are drugs which are potent stimulants of the
				  nervous system. Drugs in this class have no generally accepted medical use in
				  the racehorse and their pharmacological potential for altering the performance
				  of a race is very high.
Class 2
Drugs in this category have a high potential for affecting
				  the outcome of a race. Most are not generally accepted as therapeutic agents in
				  the racehorse. Many are products intended to alter consciousness or the psychic
				  state of humans, and have no approved or indicated use in the horse. Some, such
				  as injectable local anesthetics, have legitimate use in equine medicine, but
				  should not be found in a racehorse. The following groups of drugs are in this
				  class:
(a) Opiate partial agonists, or
				agonist-antagonists;
(b) Non-opiate
				psychotropic drugs, which may have stimulant, depressant, analgesic or
				neuroleptic effects;
(c)
				Miscellaneous drugs which might have a stimulant effect on the central nervous
				system (CNS);
(d) Drugs with
				prominent CNS depressant action;
(e) Antidepressant and antipsychotic drugs,
				with or without prominent CNS stimulatory or depressant effects;
(f) Muscle blocking drugs which have a direct
				neuromuscular blocking action;
(g)
				Local anesthetics which have a reasonable potential for use as nerve blocking
				agents (except procaine); and
(h)
				Snake venoms and other biologic substances, which may be used as nerve blocking
				agents.
Class 3
Drugs in this class may or may not have an accepted
				  therapeutic use in the horse. Many are drugs that affect the cardiovascular,
				  pulmonary and autonomic nervous systems. They all have the potential of
				  affecting the performance of a racehorse. The following groups of drugs are in
				  this class:
(a) Drugs affecting the
				autonomic nervous system which do not have prominent CNS effects, but which do
				have prominent cardiovascular or respiratory system effects (bronchodilators
				are included in this class);
(b) A
				local anesthetic which has nerve blocking potential but also has a high
				potential for producing urine residue levels from a method of use not related
				to the anesthetic effect of the drug (procaine);
(c) Miscellaneous drugs with mild sedative
				action, such as the sleep inducing antihistamines;
(d) Primary vasodilating/hypotensive agents;
				and
(e) Potent diuretics affecting
				renal function and body fluid composition.
Class 4
This category is comprised primarily of therapeutic
				  medications routinely used in racehorses. These may influence performance, but
				  generally have a more limited ability to do so. Groups of drugs assigned to
				  this category include the following:
(a) Non-opiate drugs which have a mild
				central analgesic effect;
(b) Drugs
				affecting the autonomic nervous system which do not have prominent CNS,
				cardiovascular or respiratory effects
(i)
				Drugs used solely as topical vasoconstrictors or decongestants
(ii) Drugs used as gastrointestinal
				antispasmodics
(iii) Drugs used to
				void the urinary bladder
(iv) Drugs
				with a major effect on CNS vasculature or smooth muscle of visceral
				organs.
(v) Antihistamines which do
				not have a significant CNS depressant effect (This does not include H1 blocking
				agents, which are listed in Class 5);
(c) Mineralocorticoid drugs;
(d) Skeletal muscle relaxants;
(e) Anti-inflammatory drugs--those that may
				reduce pain as a consequence of their anti-inflammatory actions, which include:
(i) Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs
				(NSAIDs;
(ii) Corticosteroids
				(glucocorticoids); and
(iii)
				Miscellaneous anti-inflammatory agents.
(f) Anabolic and/or androgenic steroids and
				other drugs;
(g) Less potent
				diuretics;
(h) Cardiac glycosides
				and antiarrhythmics including:
(i) Cardiac
				glycosides;
(ii) Antirryhthmic
				agents (exclusive of lidocaine, bretylium and propanolol); and
(iii) Miscellaneous cardiotonic
				drugs.
(i) Topical
				Anesthetics--agents not available in injectable formulations;
(j) Antidiarrheal agents; and
(k) Miscellaneous drugs including:
(i) Expectorants with little or no other
				pharmacologic action;
(ii)
				Stomachics; and
(iii) Mucolytic
				agents.
Class 5
Drugs in this category are therapeutic medications for which
				  concentration limits have been established as well as certain miscellaneous
				  agents. Included specifically are agents, which have very localized action
				  only, such as anti-ulcer drugs and certain anti-allergenic drugs. The
				  anticoagulant drugs are also included.
Association of Racing Commissioners
				  International
Drug Testing Standards and Practices
				  Program
Recommended Penalties
(as Revised August 3, 2003)
Penalty Recommendations
(in the absence of
				  mitigating circumstances):
Class 1
1 - 5 years suspension and $5,000 fine
				  and loss of purse
Class 2
6 month - 1 year suspension and $1,500 -
				  $2,500 fine and loss of purse
Class 3
60 days - 6 month suspension and up to
				  $1,500 fine and loss of the purse
Class 4
15 - 60 days suspension and up to $1,000
				  fine and loss of the purse
Class 5
0 - 15 days suspension with a possible
				  loss of purse and/or fine
18.011.02A The penalties imposed by the
				stewards may include license suspension up to the duration of the meet plus 60
				days, fines not to exceed the statutory limit of $1500, and forfeiture of any
				purse, trophy, or other prize.
18.011.02B The stewards may consider
				mitigating circumstances and evidence and impose a lesser penalty.
18.011.02C The stewards may consider
				aggravating circumstances and evidence and past violations and impose greater
				penalties.
18.011.02D The stewards
				may recommend a penalty in excess of their authority. In such cases, the
				stewards may impose the maximum penalty authorized and refer the matter to the
				Commission with specific recommendations for further action. Such referral and
				recommendations shall be included in the stewards' ruling.