Page 13 - New Mexico Horse Breeder Summer 2018

The News
New Mexico Racing Commission Receives Awards from ARCI
The New Mexico Racing Commission received awards for “exemplary service to the cause of racing integrity” from the Association of Racing Commissioners International.
The NMRC received its awards at the RCI’s annual meeting in Hot Springs, Arkansas, on April 5. According to a press release sent by the commission, the awards stem from “the prolific efforts that New Mexico Racing Commissioners and staff have put forth to increase the level of integrity of the state’s horse racing industry.”
During the past few years, NMRC staff
and commissioners have been asked to speak
at several international industry conferences to give details on how they are leveling the playing field in their home state. Significant rule changes and testing efforts have been implemented since 2016, and the state has taken a tough stance on
trainers and owners who violate New Mexico’s new drug-violation rules.
But the most noticeable difference is in the decrease in positive drug tests from 2016 to last year.
“We feel that the decrease in drug positives is partially due to the increase number of out-of-competition tests,” said NMRC executive director Ismael “Izzy” Trejo. “New Mexico ranked third in the number of out-of- competition tests conducted in 2016 and was toward the top in 2017.”
“A new variable in the out-of-competition testing program is hair testing, which was implemented in July 2017,” he added. “Since
its inception, several horses have been kept from running in our state’s big-money races, including the (Grade 1, $3-million) All American Futurity, due to Clenbuterol findings in the hair. We
feel that hair testing is a tool that can be used
to catch horses that have been administered Clenbuterol in other jurisdictions and then come to New Mexico to race in our major races.”
“We extend a big invitation to horsemen from other jurisdictions to come and race with us, but rest assured a high level of integrity is going to be expected of them, as it is with our own horsemen who are based here.”
Based in Lexington, Kentucky, the RCI is the only umbrella organization of the official governing rule-making bodies for professional horse and greyhound racing in North America and parts of the Caribbean. The RCI sets standards for racing regulation, medication policy, drug-testing laboratories, totalizator systems, racetrack operation and security, as well as off-track wagering entities.
New Receiving Barn, Chapel Open at Ruidoso Downs
The first season of new ownership at Ruidoso Downs Racetrack and Casino has featured the opening of a new receiving barn and chapel.
Ruidoso Downs’ new chapel is located where the public can access it 24 hours a day. The previous chapel was located in the barn area, which is a secured area.
The new chapel site helps ensure security in the barn area and is more easily accessible by all people.
Ruidoso Downs’ new receiving barn is on the barn-area side of the tunnel that goes from that area to the infield and saddling paddock. Horses will arrive at the receiving barn about 45 minutes before they race, and they will be under the watchful eye of one of the track’s racing officials.
The new approach is part of the increased security and dedication to racing integrity at Ruidoso Downs, which opened its 47-day season on May 25.
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