By T. D. Thornton
If individual racing commissions adopt the new model rule voted in last Thursday by the Association of Racing Commissioners International (ARCI), horses of all racing breeds will soon be required to be registered twice–first with their respective Thoroughbred, Standardbred and Quarter Horse registries, then again as a “race horse” with the ARCI for the purpose of expanding and improving multi-jurisdictional record-keeping.
“The Jockey Club, the United States Trotting Association and the American Quarter Horse Association do breed registries for purposes of the sanctity of their breeds,” said ARCI president Ed Martin. “This
The effective date for being registered as a “race horse” would be Jan. 1, 2017, and it would be a prerequisite for race entry within participating North American jurisdictions.
“There are investigatory benefits,” Martin said. “Various commissions currently require the submission of some veterinary records. This would facilitate that by allowing electronic submission. These records would be key regulatory data points. It would also potentially create the ability to track any out-of-competition tests that the commissions would perform on particular horses.”
Martin said the ARCI has already reached out to all three breed-specific organizations to find ways to move forward with their assistance. Depending on the partnership with each breed registry and the technological capabilities of the new database that will be implemented, Martin said it is conceivable that eventually, owners will be able to apply for a single “one-stop” registration that covers both the breed registry’s requirements and those of the new ARCI registration.
“We’re looking to do this at minimal cost to the owners, and we’re looking for the most seamless way to integrate registrations going forward,” Martin said.
The new “race horse” registry could also be used as a safeguard for owners who want to sell or donate a retired animal strictly on a second-career basis with the stipulation that the new caretaker never enters the horse to race again. Instead of writing that request on foal papers (which can go missing) the selling or donating party could request that the “race horse” registration be invalidated with the ARCI at the time of the transaction.
Martin said that purpose wasn’t something the ARCI had specifically envisioned in its concept for the rule, but “it would be very easy to build a flag into the system to tell if somebody tried to bring a horse back at some point.”
Separately, Martin said, Thoroughbred owners will also be required to be listed in a new “centralized ownership registry that emulates what already exists in Standardbred and Quarter Horse racing.”
In other business at the July 15-16 ARCI summer meeting in Deadwood, South Dakota, the Model Rules Committee formed a working group to develop a list of best-practice responsibilities for Thoroughbred horse owners.
In a TDN preview of the ARCI meeting last week, Martin had explained that the Model Rules Committee would be considering whether or not to propose an entirely new section of regulations that could move the ultimate responsibility for the care, condition, and treatment of horses from trainers to owners.
Developing a list of “best practices” seems like a downshift in tone from proposing an entire new slate of owner-specific regulations. But Martin said a new model rule about ultimate ownership responsibility could still emerge from the committee’s findings.
“Whether that [list] becomes the standard for a rule remains to be seen,” Martin said. “We’re very sensitive about not discouraging people from investing in the sport.
“And this isn’t a desire to cast aside the trainer responsibility rule–not at all,” Martin continued. “But there is a desire to ensure that owners are involved, perhaps a little more so, in the details of how their race horses are managed.”
The Model Rules Committee also discussed separate “excessive administration” and “horse tampering” rules. Instead of outlining those two rule proposals singularly as planned, Martin said those concepts moving forward will fused into one new model rule that might be up for a vote when the ARCI meets in December.
The ongoing task of the ARCI’s Model Rules Committee is to come up with a framework of regulations for all three race horse breeds, plus greyhound racing, in the United Sates and Canada.
Individual state racing commissions are not required to abide by the ARCI rules, but “regulatory entities are encouraged to adopt the Model Rules by reference as a way to enhance uniformity of regulation in a sport that has evolved to be multi-jurisdictional,” the ARCI website explains.
