RMTC
By Tom LaMarra
With the latest Thoroughbred racing rule changes now in place, West Virginia has now fully adopted the National Uniform Medication Program.
The updates took effect June 28, said Kelli Talbott, senior deputy attorney general for the West Virginia Racing Commission. They include the multiple medication violation penalty system, which targets repeat offenders of medication rules.
In addition, the new regulation updates the Controlled Therapeutic Medication Schedule, which means the full list of 26 drugs under Association of Racing Commissioners International model rules is now in place in West Virginia.
Talbott said the racing industry hopes to have a threshold testing level for the naturally occurring mineral cobalt in place by mid-2016. In West Virginia any regulatory changes must be approved by the state legislature; the process can take about a year from introduction to implementation.
