Indiana Horse Racing Commission
State of Indiana

Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr., Governor
www.in.gov/ihrc

August 9, 2006

Dear Standardbred Trainer,

I'd like to take this opportunity to inform you of changes that the Indiana Horse Racing Commission has recently made to its regulations regarding equine medication.  The changes have been made to allow Indiana to conform with industry standards on medication issues that are consistent with the recommendations of the Racing Medication Testing Consortium (RMTC) and the Association of Racing Commissioners International (RCI).

Effective August 1, 2006 - VIEW UPDATED RULES

• The maximum dose of salix allowed on race day has increased from 5 cc's to 10 cc's.
• Horses may be placed on the bleeder list without an endoscopic examination.
• Horses "going on" or "going off" salix need not qualify prior to racing.

Effective September 1, 2006 - VIEW UPDATED RULES

• Trainers will have a choice of one of three NSAIDS (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) to be administered at least twenty-four (24) hours prior to post time.  The options include phenylbutazone (bute), flunixin (banamine), and ketoprofen.

It is important to note that the recommended use of banamine and ketoprofen is an IV injection at the recommended labeled dose.  The Indiana Horse Racing Commission strongly recommends that banamine paste or any non-injectable form of banamine or ketoprofen not be used as no studies of withdrawal times have been performed on these forms of these drugs.  Trainers utilizing these forms of the drugs risk a positive test for excessive amounts in a post race sample.

Enclosed please find copies of the rule amendments along with the Commission's policy on bleeder adjunct medication.  Should you have any questions, please contact the Commission's Chief Veterinarian, Ursula Jedra, DVM at (317) 233-6895 or by email at ujedra@hrc.in.gov.

Best of Racing Luck,

Joe Gorajec
Executive Director, IHRC