Two panels of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) have begun the lengthy–and potentially contentious–process of reviewing and revising the state’s medication regulations.

Included in the reviews by the KHRC Rules Committee and the Kentucky Equine Drug Research Council are medications, testing procedures, and prohibited practices; disciplinary measures and penalties; and drug and medication classification schedules and withdrawal guidelines.

The work by the panels comes at a time when the Association of Racing Commissioners International has recommended that furosemide–the anti-bleeder medication commonly marketed under the name Salix (formerly Lasix)–be prohibited for race-day use, and recent recommendations from the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium relating to race-day medications. During an Aug. 2 meeting, Jerry Yon, MD, who chairs the drug council, said the process would be thorough.

Mary Scollay, DVM, the KHRC equine medical director, said that during the recent international medication summit she was surprised "at how strong the consensus was within the room to move away from use of furosemide on race day. It did feel a little bit to me like a summer camp romance. It was not that difficult to achieve consensus within the room, but stepping outside the room I think it will be a much more complex problem