Pennsylvania Code › Title 7 - AGRICULTURE › Part VIII - State Horse Racing Commission › Subpart F - Foreign Substances, Medications, Drugs and Equine Veterinary Practices › Chapter 401 - PROHIBITED AND UNLAWFUL PRACTICES-TEMPORARY REGULATIONS › UNIFORM MEDICATION CLASSIFICATION AND PENALTIES › Section 401.41 - Determination of positive test results

Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 28, July 13, 2024
(a) If the Standardbred or Thoroughbred
					 Bureau Directors declare a positive test based upon the reported findings of
					 the Commission testing laboratory, and if applicable, the confirmation by the
					 split sample laboratory, it shall be considered a possible violation of the
					 provisions of this chapter. The Bureau Directors shall authorize and direct
					 Commission investigators to immediately conduct an investigation of the matters
					 relating to the positive finding. Medication and drug violations shall be
					 investigated and reviewed on a case by case basis.
(b) The results of biological sample testing
					 and analysis prepared by the Commission Testing Laboratory shall be deemed
					 prima facie correct and all steps undertaken in the collection, preservation,
					 handling and testing thereof shall be presumed correct in the absence of
					 affirmative proof to the contrary.
(c) The Board of Judges or Board of Stewards
					 shall thereafter schedule and conduct a hearing consistent with the provisions
					 set forth in Chapter 179 (relating to Rules of Administrative Practice and
					 Procedure-temporary regulations) of the Commission's regulations to determine
					 whether a violation of the Commission's regulations has occurred. In addition
					 to the penalty provisions contained in the act and the Commission's
					 regulations, the Judges and Stewards may consider the specific drug
					 classification level of the violation and the appropriate penalty categories as
					 set forth in the
Uniform Classification Guidelines of Foreign
					 Substances
established by the ARCI and set forth in §
											§
											401.42 and
					 401.43 (relating to uniform
					 classification guidelines for foreign substances; and positive test penalty
					 categories).
(d) Prior to issuing
					 the medication violation ruling, the Judges and Stewards, may also consult with
					 the Commission Veterinarian to determine if the violation was a result of the
					 administration of a therapeutic medication as documented in a veterinarian's
					 Medication Report Form (treatment sheets) received under §
											403.4 (relating to treatments
					 sheets or veterinarian medication report forms) and may also consult with the
					 Commission's Testing Laboratory director to determine the seriousness of the
					 laboratory finding or the medication violation penalties.
(e) For purposes of determining mitigating or
					 aggravating circumstances, the Judges and Stewards may consider the following
					 factors:
(1) The past record of the trainer,
					 veterinarian and owner in drug cases;
(2) The potential of the drugs to influence a
					 horse's racing performance;
(3) The
					 legal availability of the drug;
(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
					 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
					 Medication Report Form;
(9) Whether
					 there was any suspicious betting pattern in the race; and
(10) Whether the licensed trainer was acting
					 on the advice of a licensed veterinarian.