Upset Lingers Over Proposed Bute Regulation in Horse Racing

The largest horsemen’s group in the country continues to call for the racing industry to perform thorough research before it continues with its plan to lower the testing threshold for phenylbutazone, a commonly used non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug that relieves pain. The Association of Racing Commissioners International Model Rules Committee approved the lower threshold S
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The largest horsemen's group in the country continues to call for the racing industry to perform thorough research before it continues with its plan to lower the testing threshold for phenylbutazone, a commonly used non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug that relieves pain.

The Association of Racing Commissioners International Model Rules Committee approved the lower threshold Sept. 17. The RCI board of directors, which meets in early October, must now approve the change.

The proposal would lower the testing threshold from five micrograms per milliliter of plasma or serum to two. Administration of the drug isn't permitted within 24 hours of a race.

Recommendations to make the change came from the RCI Regulatory Veterinarians Committee, RCI Drug Testing Standards and Practices Committee, Racing Medication and Testing Consortium, The Jockey Club Thoroughbred Safety Committee, Jockeys' Guild, Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, and American Association of Equine Practitioners

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Tom LaMarra, a native of New Jersey and graduate of Rutgers University, has been news editor at The Blood-Horse since 1998. After graduation he worked at newspapers in New Jersey and Pennsylvania as an editor and reporter with a focus on municipal government and politics. He also worked at Daily Racing Form and Thoroughbred Times before joining The Blood-Horse. LaMarra, who has lived in Lexington since 1994, has won various writing awards and was recognized with the Old Hilltop Award for outstanding coverage of the horse racing industry. He likes to spend some of his spare time handicapping races.

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