New Mexico Administrative Code › Title 15 - GAMBLING AND LIQUOR CONTROL › Chapter 2 - HORSE RACING › Part 6 - VETERINARY PRACTICES, EQUINE HEALTH, MEDICATION, AND TRAINER RESPONSIBILITY › Section 15.2.6.9 - MEDICATIONS AND PROHIBITED SUBSTANCES

Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 13, July 16, 2024
The classification guidelines contained within the "Uniform Classification Guidelines for Foreign Substances and Recommended Penalties and Model Rule" December 2023 version 17.0 and "Association of Racing Commissioners International Controlled Therapeutic Medication Schedule for Horses", version 4.2.1 - December 2020 Update are incorporated by reference. Any threshold herein incorporated by reference by inclusion in one of the documents above shall not supersede any threshold or restriction adopted by the commission as specified by this section.
A.
Penalties:
(1) In issuing penalties against individuals found guilty of medication and drug violations, a regulatory distinction shall be made between the detection of therapeutic medications used routinely to treat racehorses and those drugs that have no reason to be found at any concentration in the test sample on race day.
(2) The stewards or the commission will use the association of racing commissioners international recommended penalty as a starting place in the penalty stage of the deliberations for a rule violation for any drug listed in the association of racing commissioners international uniform classification guidelines for foreign substances.
(3) If a licensed veterinarian is administering or prescribing a drug not listed in the association of racing commissioners international uniform classification guidelines for foreign substances, the identity of the drug shall be forwarded to the New Mexico racing commission designee to be forwarded to the racing medication and testing consortium for classification.
(4) Any drug or metabolite thereof found to be present in a pre- or post-race sample which is not classified in the association of racing commissioners international uniform classification guidelines for foreign substances shall be assumed to be an association of racing commissioners international class 1 drug and the trainer and owner shall be subject to those penalties as set forth in penalty category A unless satisfactorily demonstrated otherwise by the racing medication and testing consortium, with a penalty category assigned.
(5) The penalty categories and their related schedules, if applicable, shall be based on the following criteria:
(a) whether the drug is approved by the United States food and drug administration for use in the horse;
(b) whether the drug is approved by the United States food and drug administration for use in any species;
(c) whether the drug as approved has any legitimate therapeutic application in the equine athlete;
(d) whether the drug was identified as necessary by the racing medication and testing consortium veterinary advisory committee;
(e) whether legitimate, recognized therapeutic alternatives exist; and
(f) the association of racing commissioners international classification of the drug.
(6) The recommended penalty for a violation involving a drug that carries a category D penalty is a written warning to the trainer and owner. Multiple violations may result in fines or suspensions.
(7) If a positive test arises in a trial race, the horse subject to the positive test is to be placed on the stewards list. The purse for both the trial and the race for which the trial was conducted will be held until the case has been fully adjudicated.
(8) When the penalty assessed against a licensee for a medication or drug violation in a trial race results in a disqualification and loss of purse, the licensee is subject to the same penalties for any race for which the trial race was conducted.
(9) Any licensee of the commission, including veterinarians, found responsible for the improper or intentional administration of any drug resulting in a positive test may, after proper notice and hearing, be subject to the same penalties set forth for the licensed trainer.
(10) The licensed owner, veterinarian or any other licensed party involved in a positive laboratory finding shall be notified in writing of the hearing and any resulting action. In addition, their presence may be required at any and all hearings relative to the case.
(11) Any veterinarian found to be involved in the administration of any drug carrying the penalty category of A shall be referred to the state licensing board of veterinary medicine for consideration of further disciplinary action or license revocation. This is in addition to any penalties issued by the stewards or the commission.
(12) Any person who the stewards or the commission believe may have committed acts in violation of criminal statues may be referred to the appropriate law enforcement agency. Administrative action taken by the stewards or the commission does not prohibit a prosecution for a criminal act, nor does a potential criminal prosecution stall administrative action by the stewards or the commission.
(13) Procedures shall be established to ensure that a licensed trainer is not able to benefit financially during the period for which the individual has been suspended. This includes, but is not limited to, ensuring that horses are not transferred to a licensed person within the first degree of affinity (marriage relationship) or first degree of consanguinity (blood relationship):
(a) first degree of affinity shall mean the licensees spouse or spouses mother, father, brother, sister, son or daughter;
(b) first degree of consanguinity shall mean the licensees mother, father, brother, sister, son or daughter.
(c) No entry in any race shall be accepted for a horse owned wholly or in part by, or trained by, a person whose husband or wife is under license suspension at time of such entry; except that, if the license of a jockey has been suspended for a routine riding offense, the stewards may waive this rule.
(14) Aggravating and Mitigating Factors:
(a) In reaching a decision on a penalty for a violation for the New Mexico horse racing act or New Mexico racing commission rules and regulations, the commission, the board of stewards, the hearing officer or the administrative law judge shall consider the penalties set forth in paragraph (2) of this subsection and any aggravating and mitigating circumstances. Deviation from these penalties is appropriate where the facts of the particular case warrant such a deviation, for example: there may be mitigating circumstances for which a lesser or no penalty is appropriate, and aggravating factors for which a greater penalty is appropriate.
(b) Mitigating circumstances and aggravating factors, which must be considered, include but are not limited to:
(1) The past record of the licensee regarding violations of the New Mexico horse racing act or New Mexico racing commission rules;
(2) the potential of the drug(s) to influence a horse's racing performance and the amount of the drug present;
(3) the legal availability of the drug and whether the drug was prescribed to the horse by a New Mexico racing commission licensed veterinarian;
(4) whether there is reason to believe the responsible party knew of the administration of the drug or intentionally administered the drug;
(5) the steps taken by the trainer to safeguard the horse;
(6) the steps taken by an owner to safeguard against subsequent medication violations including, but not limited to, the transfer of the horse(s) to an unaffiliated trainer. An "unaffiliated trainer" means a trainer or an assistant trainer who is not related by blood, marriage or domestic partnership, or who is not or was never employed to the trainer from whose case such horse(s) were transferred;
(7) the probability of environmental contamination or inadvertent exposure due to human drug use or other facts;
(8) the purse of the race;
(9) whether the drug found to be present in the official test sample was one for which the horse was receiving treatment as determined and documented by an New Mexico racing commission licensed veterinarian;
(10) whether there was any suspicious wagering pattern on the race; or
(11) whether the licensed trainer was acting under the advice of an New Mexico racing commission veterinarian.
(c) The stewards shall consider the classification of a drug substance and the "uniform classification guidelines for foreign substances" if a determination is made that an official test sample from a horse contained;
(1) Any drug substance, medication, metabolites or analogues thereof foreign to the horse, whose use is not expressly authorized in this section, or
(2) any drug substance, medication or chemical authorized by this section in excess of the authorized level or other restrictions as set forth in this section.
(d) Penalties for violation of each classification level are listed in Subsection B of 15.2.6.9 NMAC.