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Commissioners pass model rules on steroids, toe grabs, reins

Commissioners pass model rules on steroids, toe grabs, reins, By: Frank Angst April 26, 2007 Association of Racing Commissioners International passed three model rules on Thursday, addressing anabolic steroids, front toe grabs, and safety reins. At the RCI Convention in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, the commissioners adopted a model rule on anabolic steroids recommended by its Drug Testing Standards and Practices Committee and backed by the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium. Under the model rule, naturally occurring boldenone (Equipoise) and testosterone, along with stanozolol, will retain Class 4 status, which includes therapeutic medications, but will have threshold levels to control use. At Class 4, these steroids could be used in a limited role, to help horses recover from injury or illness for instance, but not in training. Nandrolone, currently listed as Class 4, will be reclassified to Class 3, meaning it has no accepted use in a horse and typically will carry a higher penalty, although threshold levels will be included. All other anabolic steroids will be listed at Class 3. Fines for violating the rules will range from $500 to $1,500. Also, the model rule prohibits “stacking,” meaning that horses may only be given one anabolic steroid at a time. A finding of multiple anabolic steroids, at any level, will be prohibited. The RCI passes model rules as guidelines for each jurisdiction, which in turn may then adopt the rules or variations of the rules. Other model rules passed on Thursday morning included a ban of front horseshoes with toe grabs of a length of more than four millimeters (about a sixteenth of an inch.) The rule would carry no penalty for horsemen but a horse entered to race with such shoes would be forbidden to compete and scratched. A final model rule requires the use of safety reins at tracks. The rule would require horsemen to use the reins, which include nylon reinforcing and an extra clip, to allow jockeys to continue to guide their horse if the main leather snaps.