West Virginia Code of State Rules › Agency 178 - Racing Commission › Title 178 - LEGISLATIVE RULE RACING COMMISSION › Series 178-01 - Thoroughbred Racing › Part 3 - RACING OFFICIALS › Section 178-1-18 - Racing Commission Veterinarian(s)

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 28, July 12, 2024
18.1. General. The Racing Commission
				  veterinarian(s) shall:
18.1.a. be employed by
				  the Racing Commission;
18.1.b. be a
				  graduate veterinarian and be licensed to practice veterinary medicine in the
				  state of West Virginia;
18.1.c. be
				  qualified to objectively and competently perform the regulatory duties
				  described herein;
18.1.d. refuse
				  employment or payment, directly or indirectly, from any thoroughbred owner or
				  trainer of a thoroughbred racing or intending to race in this jurisdiction
				  while employed as a Racing Commission veterinarian;
18.1.e. refrain from directly treating or
				  prescribing for any thoroughbred under his/her jurisdiction except in cases of
				  emergency, accident, or injury;
18.1.f. have no employment history or
				  business relationship prior to or during employment as the Racing Commission
				  veterinarian that could constitute a conflict of interest or impede in the
				  performance of official duties;
18.1.g. recommend to the stewards any
				  thoroughbred deemed unsafe to be raced, or a thoroughbred that it would be
				  inhumane to allow to race;
18.1.h.
				  conduct pre-race examinations on all potential starters on race day;
18.1.i. inspect any thoroughbred when there
				  is a question as to the physical condition of such thoroughbred independent of
				  the thoroughbred's entry status;
18.1.j. be present in the paddock during
				  saddling; on the racetrack during the post parade; and, at the starting gate
				  until the thoroughbreds are dispatched from the starting gate for the
				  race;
18.1.k. recommend to the
				  stewards the scratching of any thoroughbred that is, in the opinion of the
				  Racing Commission veterinarian, injured, ill, or otherwise unable to compete
				  due to a medical or health-related condition;
18.1.l. inspect any thoroughbred which
				  appears in physical distress during the race or at the finish of the race; and
				  report such thoroughbred together with his/her opinion as to the cause of the
				  distress to the stewards;
18.1.m.
				  provide emergency medical care to horses injured while racing and effect case
				  transfer to the practicing veterinarian;
18.1.n. be authorized to humanely destroy any
				  thoroughbred deemed to be so seriously injured that it is in the best interests
				  of the thoroughbred to so act;
18.1.o. report to the Racing Commission the
				  names of all thoroughbreds humanely destroyed or which otherwise expire at the
				  meeting or on association grounds and the reasons therefore;
18.1.p. maintain all required records of
				  postmortem examinations performed on thoroughbreds which have died within the
				  jurisdiction of the Racing Commission;
18.1.q. maintain the veterinarians' list of
				  thoroughbreds ineligible to race and cause notification to be provided to a
				  horse's trainer that a horse trained by him or her is on the veterinarians'
				  list;
18.1.r. supervise, control
				  and establish any necessary procedures for the operation of the test
				  barn;
18.1.s. supervise the taking
				  of all specimens for testing according to procedures approved by the Racing
				  Commission;
18.1.t. provide proper
				  safeguards in the handling of all laboratory specimens to prevent tampering,
				  confusion, or contamination and assure sample integrity;
18.1.u. provide the stewards with a written
				  statement regarding the nature and seriousness of all laboratory reports of
				  prohibited substances in equine samples;
18.1.v. have jurisdiction over the practicing
				  veterinarians on the association's grounds for the purpose of this
				  rule;
18.1.w. review and consult
				  with the applicants and the stewards/Racing Commission regarding permit
				  applications of practicing veterinarians, veterinary technicians or assistants,
				  vendors of medical supplies and equipment, and non-veterinarian health care
				  providers;
18.1.x. cooperate with
				  practicing veterinarians and other regulatory agencies to take measures to
				  control communicable and/or reportable equine diseases;
18.1.y. keep current and/or update the Jockey
				  Club Equine Injury Database, if the association is a participant in the
				  database; and
18.1.z. cause the
				  Uniform Classification Guidelines for Foreign Substances as promulgated by the
				  Association of Racing Commissioners International (RCI), Version 14.1 (revised
				  January 2020), set forth in table 178-1 D at the end of this rule, any
				  medication/substance thresholds set forth in section 49 of this rule and in the
				  Association of Racing Commissioners International Controlled Therapeutic
				  Medication Schedule, Version 3.2, contained in table 178-1F at the end of this
				  rule and the Association of Racing Commissioners International Endogenous,
				  Dietary, or Environmental Substances Schedule, Version 4.1, contained in table
				  178-1G at the end of this rule, to be publicly posted in the office of Racing
				  Commission veterinarian(s).