Or. Admin. R. 462-160-0140

Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 8, August 1, 2024

Section 462-160-0140 - Testing

(1) Reporting to the Test Barn:

(a) The board of stewards or a commission veterinarian may require that any horse is tested for drugs prior to its removal from any list, after any race or workout, or whenever the board of stewards or a commission veterinarian has reasonable suspicion to believe that an illegal drug or excessive quantity of an authorized drug has been used any horse;

(b) The official winning horse and any other horse ordered by the commission and/or the stewards shall be taken to the test barn to have blood and urine samples taken at the direction of a commission veterinarian. The horse(s) ordered to the test barn shall be identified by a readily identifiable tag or ribbon attached to the bridle;

(c) Random or extra testing may be required by the stewards or the commission veterinarian at any time on any horse on association grounds;

(d) Unless otherwise directed by the stewards or a commission veterinarian, a horse that is selected for testing must be taken directly to the test barn;

(e) A track security guard shall monitor access to the test barn area during hours posted by a commission veterinarian. All persons who wish to enter the test barn area must be a minimum of 15 years old, be currently licensed by the commission, display their commission identification badge and have a legitimate reason for being in the test barn area;

(f) Whenever requested by the stewards or a commission veterinarian, any horse on the racecourse or that was previously on the racecourse, shall be immediately submitted by the horse's owner or trainer to a commission veterinarian or designated representative for examination or testing. If the horse is not on the racecourse, it must be promptly returned to the racecourse. An extension of time may be granted if good cause is given at the time the request is made;

(g) A claimed horse shall remain in the care and custody of the original trainer or their representative until after the post-race testing process is complete.

(2) Sample Collection:

(a) Sample collection shall be completed in accordance with these rules and the guidelines and instructions provided by a commission veterinarian;

(b) A commission veterinarian shall determine a minimum sample requirement for the primary testing laboratory;

(c) Any examination made by a commission veterinarian or test taken by a commission veterinarian or designee may be witnessed by the owner, trainer, or the trainer's designated representative.

(3) Storage and Shipment of Split Samples:

(a) Split samples obtained in accordance with subsection (2) above shall be secured and made available for further testing in accordance with the following procedures:

(A) A split sample shall be secured in the test barn under the same manner as the portion of the specimen acquired for shipment to a primary laboratory. Split samples shall be stored in a freezer and/or refrigerator at a secure location approved by the commission;

(B) Split samples remain the property of the commission. In the case of a compromised primary sample, the split sample shall be used as the primary sample.

(b) A trainer of a horse having been notified by commission staff that a prohibited substance or overage of a permitted medication has been found in the primary sample that was sent to the officail laboratory, may request the split sample be sent to another laboratory approved by the commission for referee testing. In the case of a compromised primary sample, the remaining portion of the split sample used by the primary laboratory for primary testing may be sent to another laboratory approved by the commission for the referee testing requested by the trainer of the horse. The request for referee testing must be made in writing, in person or by telephone. Payment for the referee testing must be paid in full and be delivered to a designated commission representative not later than 72-hours after the trainer of the horse receives notice of the findings of the primary laboratory. Notification, for the purpose of this rule, will include efforts to contact the trainer by commission staff using the information supplied by the trainer on their license application.

(c) The trainer requesting referee testing of a split sample shall be responsible for the cost of shipping the sample to the selected laboratory and also for the cot of the requested testing. Failure of the trainer or trainer's designee to appear at the time and place designated by a commission veterinarian or other commission staff shall constitute a waiver of all rights to split sample testing. Prior to shipment of the split sample, the commission shall confirm the selected receiving laboratory's willingness to provide the testing being requested by the trainer or trainer designee and also the acceptability of the payment arrangements made by the trainer or their designee for payment of the requested sample testing.

(d) The package containing any portion of a split sample shall be transported in the manner prescribed by the commission to the location where custody is transferred to the delivery carrier charged with delivery of the package to the commission-approved laboratory selected by the owner or trainer;

(e) The commission will not release any portion of a horse's split sample to any representative of the horse. All expenses for referee confirmation testing, including but not limited to transportation, analysis and personal testimony from the reference laboratory shall be borne by the horse's trainer or the trainer's designee. A copy of all written material received by or from the laboratory which conducted the referee confirmation analysis shall be forwarded to the horse's trainer or the trainer's designee. The commission or board of stewards may use the written material as evidence at any hearing.

(4) Laboratory Minimum Standards: Laboratories conducting either primary or split sample testing or other sample analysis must meet at least the following minimum standards:

(a) A testing laboratory must adhere to and comply with any standards set forth and required by the commission;

(b) A testing laboratory must have, or have access to, LC/MS instrumentation for screening and/or confirmation purposes;

(c) A testing laboratory must be able to meet minimum standards of detection, which is defined as the specific concentration at which a laboratory is expected to detect the presence of a particular drug and/or metabolite or by the adoption of a regulatory threshold.

(5) Refusal or Interfering With Sample(s)/Collection:

(a) Failure to appear promptly for or refusal to allow the taking of a sample is prohibited;

(b) Any act, disturbance or threat to impede, prevent or interfere with the taking of a sample, ORC personnel's documenting of the taking of a sample or ORC personnel's following of a commission veterinarian's guidelines for collection and documentation of a sample is prohibited and shall be reported to the stewards;

(c) Any violation of this section shall be deemed an admission of violation of ORS 462.415(b).

(6) Substances That Cause Interference with Testing Procedures:

(a) If laboratory analysis detects any adulteration or substance in quantities that interfere with routine screening or the true and accurate testing and analysis of any sample taken from an animal, the laboratory shall perform alternate testing procedures to determine if any other prohibited drug(s) are present. If another prohibited or unauthorized drug is found, the sanctions for the use of such drug shall additionally apply;

(b) Sulfa drugs. Non-interfering levels of sulfa drugs in urine tests shall not be considered a violation of the prohibited medication statues or rules. A non-interfering level is anything less the 1 microgram per milliliter of urine.

(7) Presence of A Prohibited Substance:

(a) Laboratory analysis of saliva, urine, blood or other sample taken from a horse on race day which indicates the presence of an unauthorized drug or an excessive quantity of an authorized drug shall be conclusive evidence that the horse contained that drug or quantity of drug on race day;

(b) When laboratory analysis confirms the presence of an unauthorized drug, the commission investigators shall immediately conduct a thorough investigation of the incident. and shall write up a detailed report for presentation to the board of stewards. The report should discuss the race, the winning horse, the losing horse(s) placement, post-race testing conditions and results, transport to the official testing laboratory and, if also used, referee testing laboratory, when the mailing was made to the laboratory, when the laboratory reports receiving the package, the condition of the package upon receipt if known, the type of testing used, the results of that testing as stated in the laboratory report along with any other information which may be relevant to the case.Within a reasonable time after receipt of the lab results and the writing of the investigative report, the stewards shall hold or request the commission to hold a hearing to determine if the horse on race day had an unauthorized drug and/or an excessive amount of an authorized drug in its system, The hearing shall also determine who was responsible for the horse's condition prior to and upon the race day that resulted in the sample testing performed by the laboratory;

(c) If on race day, a horse is found in violation of the medication statutes and rules, excluding those statutes and rules governing the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or also on race day is found with trace levels of therapeutic medications as determined by the commission as pursuant to ORS 462.415, its owners shall not participate in the purse distribution of that race and the horse shall be disqualified. Those owners shall promptly return any portion of the purse previously distributed to them, together with any trophy. When a horse is disqualified in a race because of this rule, the eligibility of other horses which ran in the race and which have started in a subsequent race before announcement of the disqualification shall not be affected. If the ruling or order disqualifying a horse is appealed to the commission, all horses involved in the race shall participate in future races based upon the original order of finish of the race in question until final disposition of the appeal by the commission.

Or. Admin. R. 462-160-0140

RC 2-2006(Temp), f. & cert. ef. 10-2-06 thru 3-21-07; RC 1-2007, f. 2-28-07, cert. ef. 3-7-07; RC 2-2007(Temp), f. 2-28-07, cert. ef. 3-7-07 thru 8-31-07; RC 5-2007, f. & cert. ef. 8-6-07; RC 2-2008, f. & cert. ef. 9-30-08; RC 2-2009, f. 8-24-09, cert. ef. 10-1-09; RC 10-2024, amend filed 04/08/2024, effective 4/8/2024

Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 462.270(3)

Statutes/Other Implemented: ORS 462.270 & 462.415