CHRB Medication Committee Meeting November 28, 2007

Neigh Saver Karin attended the CHRB Medication Committee Meeting held on November 28, 2007 at UC Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine. Attending were Richard Smith, CHRB Assistant Executive Director, Ingrid Fermin, CHRB Executive Director, Richard Shapiro, CHRB Commissioner, John Harris, CHRB Commissioner, Dr. Rick Arthur, CHRB Veterinarian and a number of UC Davis veterinarians, professors, graduate study students and a limited number of the general public.

The meeting was extremely informative and consisted of panel discussions and presentations by various professors and veterinarians. At the conclusion we were invited to observe a horse running on a treadmill in one of the labs. We watched the treadmill ramp up to about 25 - 28 miles an hour and to watch this animal in full out run was incredible. It brought to mind that in racing we actually ask much more of them in terms of speed and watching even at this speed brought back the main mantra of the meeting–we are asking these animals to do unnatural things every day. Next we toured a lab where new methods of determining medication levels are being researched and then to the orthopedic research laboratory followed by a wine and cheese reception.

The meeting opened with a discussion of whether or not to allow horses to race unshod. Dr. Arthur position was that studies show that horses that train unshod actually have healthier and stronger hoofs. There was no objection to this and the CHRB moved to vote to amend the regulation allowing unshod horses to race. Interestingly enough, at the northern tracks the type of shoe is listed as equipment, whereby the southern tracks do not list type of shoe. The CHRB will list a horse as unshod as part of the equipment.

Dr. Arthur continued to speak about regulating anabolic steroids in horses and stressed that it was to "regulate" rather than to prohibit because steroids are a natural occurrence in both male and female horses. There is no way to regulate testosterone in non-gelded males. Dr. Arthur has thus far classified about 40 different drugs that fall under the umbrella of anabolic steroids.

The goal of the CHRB is to have regulations in place that will prohibit the use of Class 3 Drugs in racing. The CHRB wants to publicize the 2008 Breeder’s Cup scheduled for Santa Anita to be the first in the history of the event to be free of anabolic steroid supplements.

Many people expressed more concern of use of these drugs for the 2 year old in training and other sales events. A representative of Barrett’s was there and claimed that Barrett’s would go out of business if they couldn’t "properly" prep horses for sale and that no one would send the stellar and "money making" horses to California since California had no real "high-end" inventory of their own. His remarks were not well received by those attending.

Dr. Nicola Pusterla next presented his slide show entitled "Learning from Recent Outbreaks of Neurological Equine Herpes Virus-1 Infection." Dr. Pusterla carefully monitored the recent outbreak that occurred last year at Golden Gate Fields and personally tested every horse at the track and showed how by graphing location the Herpes virus can spread.

Dr. John Madigan presented a slide show on "Emergency Preparedness Planning" and used many examples of photos and experiences from the devastating fires in Southern California of last month. The purpose of Dr. Madigan’s presentation was to focus on the creation of a "CERT" program "Citizen Emergency Response Teams" with respect to equine rescue. Apparently in 2001 the state mandated the creation of a "California Emergency Animal Resources Plan" that has yet to be put into place today. Each race track in California will have a CERT program in place with trained volunteers that are certified and can spring into action when there is an emergency. CERT volunteers would be certified county by county as well.

Dr. Susan Stover presented a "Racehorse Injury Research Update." UC Davis receives nearly all deceased racehorses for research in a collaborative program entered into by the racetracks. The "Equine Postmortem Program at UC Davis" has found that over 50% of all horses examined had fatal breakdowns relating to sesamoid injuries. There was no difference between the left or right sides. In addition, when conducting postmortem studies it appeared there were weaknesses in the other leg as well suggesting that these breakdowns were the result of preexisting lesions. The fetlock/condular fractures seen in the past have gone down significantly since the installation of artificial surfaces. Dr. Stover’s team also studies the blunt force trauma of the horse’s leg as it impacts the ground on different surfaces. It appears from preliminary studies that the Tapeta Footings surface is the kindest of all surfaces thus far. The most interesting statistic is that on average racehorses suffered one fatal catastrophic breakdown in every 400 starts on traditional surfaces. The data shows that it is about 1 in every 1,200 starts on artificial surfaces.

The last presentation was by Dr. Rick Arthur who introduced a new computer software program called "In-Compass." And that is exactly what it does–bringing all the data together in one resource. Dr. Arthur explained that all injuries are logged by track veterinarians on paper and there is no central database. In addition, there is really no way to analyze data accurately without a centralized and accurate database that tracks a horse’s starts, layoff, prior injuries and sickness and just about every statistic known. "In-Compass" analyzes all data concerning a horse’s performance and statistics making it easier to correlate injuries and classify them. It has data sharing and reporting capabilities and will soon be used by all racetracks.

Personally, I am very pleased with the general direction the CHRB is taking. Richard Shapiro commented again and again that it was a shame that all those who constantly complained could not see or understand the amount of research and dedication and particularly science that is going into trying to protect the health and welfare of our racehorses. Since UC Davis recently received a million dollar grant for further study, Mr. Shapiro suggested that the UC Davis take this "show on the road." I must say I agree.