New horse racing regulations have been released by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO).
The commission announced the reforms on April 4 as part of its Moving Ahead: Horse Racing Regulation in Ontario project.
The rules took effect on April 21 and the AGCO will amend its rule book this summer.
Equine drug reforms
The AGCO is introducing a number of measures to streamline the equine drug program, including:
– updated penalty guidelines to “better reflect the severity of equine drug violations and better protect equine athletes,” states an AGCO release;
– a more efficient process for the race official’s review of a positive test;
– standardization of the process for offering settlements of most drug violations with early admission; and
– horses will no longer be automatically suspended for 90 days following a positive test.
More details on the changes can be found on the new AGCO website under the equine drug program.
Health and safety
Based on the recommendations for a health and safety working group, the AGCO has made two changes:
– Standardbred Rule 6.52 and Thoroughbred Rule 15.37, related to extracorporeal shockwave machines, have been modified. Only veterinarians licensed by the AGCO can possess and use such machines under specific conditions; and
– a new Standardbred Rule 6.54 and a new Thoroughbred Rule 15.39, address the use of blood gas machines. Only veterinarians licensed by the AGCO may use the machines on a racehorse (recorded and maintained as part of the horse’s record) and use is restricted to valid diagnostic procedures.
The state of the industry
The AGCO has also reflected on the state of industry practices and will update “Rules of Racing” books this summer. Sixteen rules no longer in use are being removed and 12 are being updated to better reflect current practices.
AGCO official race reports
After a Race Report pilot project in 2017, the AGCO has decided to expand the program to all racetracks in Ontario.
Race Reports include details on in-race calls made by AGCO race officials and other insights impacting each race card.
Daily race reports have been advocated for by the betting public for additional wagering insights and by participants for improving consistency.
Results of the 2017 Race Reports pilot program and a recent survey are to be released this spring through the AGCO Newsletter.
Next phase
Later this year the AGCO will launch phase two of its multi-year racing reform project.
Officials say this phase will focus on modernizing the Rules of Racing to better align with the AGCO regulatory framework; progressing towards a more risk-based, outcomes-based and compliance-focused model.
The AGCO stated it is committed to ongoing collaboration with industry stakeholders, and therefore will establish formal engagement and advisory processes to ensure industry input is reflected in future reforms.
For more information visit www.agco.ca.
