Medication issues in equine competitions might have reached their highest level of public focus in 2008 due to high-profile situations such as Kentucky Derby winner Big Brown’s steroid regimen and the disqualification of several Olympic horses for prohibited medications. Despite a significant investment of time and money by various advisory and regulatory groups, medications clearly continue to be a thorny problem for many equine sports. During the 2008 American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) convention, held Dec. 6-10 in San Diego, Calif., a two-hour panel discussion of medication in racing and performance horses sought to sort out some the issues for equine veterinarians.

The well-attended session began with presentations on the status of medication testing and regulation in the United States Thoroughbred racing industry and in U.S. Equestrian Federation (USEF)-sanctioned events, and it continued into a spirited discussion of medication regulations, enforcement, and ethics among the audience and the panel members, who included:

• Moderator Robert Lewis, DVM, AAEP’s representative to the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium (RMTC);
• Scot Waterman, DVM, executive director of the RMTC;
• Rick Arthur, DVM, equine medical director of the California Horse Racing Board and secretary of the RMTC;
• Craig Dado, vice president of marketing at the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club (standing in for Alex Waldrop, president and CEO of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association);
• John Kimmel, VMD, a veterinarian and Thoroughbred trainer;
• Kevin Dunlavy, DVM, a veterinarian practicing on racetracks in Kentucky and Louisiana;
• Stephen Schumacher, DVM, chief administrator of the United States Equestrian Federation medication and testing program;
• Kent Allen, DVM, veterinary coordinator for the 2010 World Equestrian Games; and
• Rick Mitchell, DVM, team veterinarian for the U.S. Olympic team.

Racing Medication and Testing Consortium Work

Waterman kicked off the session by presenting a brief discussion of the history of the RMTC and its activities, along with its future goals. The RMTC had its beginnings in the AAEP’s Racehorse Medication Summit in 2001, which intended to address whether uniform medication rules were achievable. "At that time there were some high-profile medication cases ongoing and groups putting forth national proposals for medication policies," he recalled. "AAEP recognized the potential damage to the sport from medication controversies and that their members would be in the crosshairs of such situations