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about Quarter Horse racing?
A: Properly administered, there’s nothing about the sport itself I don’t like. The main thing I don’t like about horse racing in general right now is that we can’t get everyone on board with the Uniform Medication Model Rules. Seventeen years ago, the racetracks came together and took what we all thought was a giant step forward when we brought together the most qualified veterinarians
in North America and formed the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium (RMTC) and assigned them the task of coming up with acceptable uniform testing standards which could be applied in every racing jurisdic-
tion nationwide. It took a long time, but
they accomplished it and those standards
were made Model Rules by the Association
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of Racing Commissioners International in 2013. I made sure that Remington Park and Lone Star Park were immediately on record
as endorsing the adoption of those rules in
our respective states. Texas is nearly all the way there. Oklahoma still allows the highest levels of pain medications of any other state
in the U.S., but the Oklahoma Commission has stated that it is moving toward adoption
of the Model Rules. I hope so. I am cautiously optimistic they will do it. It’s a life safety issue for horses and jockeys. The last thing we need is for the federal government to get involved. There has been federal legislation introduced in Congress which would require a federal pro- gram and which would quite simply put many racetracks and horse owners out of business. That would be catastrophic to our sport. If all racing jurisdictions would adopt the Model
Rules, the proposed federal legislation would die on the vine. By adopting the ARCI Model Rules for medication levels, we would be assuring that everyone is playing by the same rules from state to state. Of course it’s always going to be a moving target, so the RMTC recommendations and the Model Rules have to be in a constant state of evolution. Thirty years ago, Clenbuterol was seen as a harmless new medication to treat respiratory prob- lems. Years later, it was found to also increase muscular development similar to the effects of anabolic steroids and it was being broadly abused. To their credit, the Oklahoma Horse Racing Commission was quick to revise
their accepted levels of Clenbuterol and now continue to revise those rules toward the standards implemented elsewhere, notably initiated by Dr. Ed Allred at Los Alamitos. Of course, there will always be owners, trainers and scientists around the world who will be looking for ways to cheat the system. That’s true in any and all sports. Modern technology allows outlaw chemists to synthesize exotic compounds like dermorphin (juice from the skin of the Waxy Monkey Tree Frog), which is a powerful painkiller and stimulant. Once the unfair advantage was detected, a test was developed to find this dangerous substance and its use carries with it career-ending penal- ties. It will always be a cat-and-mouse game with cheaters and regulators, in horse racing as it is in the Olympics and other sports.
Q: What’s one thing you like about Quarter Horse racing?
A: It’s the most democratic of sports. It doesn’t take a fortune to buy a horse who has a legitimate chance of becoming a world- beater. A fast horse is a fast horse and he/
she might be owned by anyone. There’s no judge assigning points. It’s “My horse can outrun your horse,” and the contest is settled on the racetrack. I love the inclusiveness of Quarter Horse racing. We’ve had used car dealers, junkyard operators, feedlot cowboys, princesses, immigrants, school teachers and captains of industry win the All American
F Futurity. That’s a beautiful thing.
S c o t t r e g u l a r l y c o m p e t e s i n t h e c a m e l r a c e s , s h o w n h e r e w i t h G . R . C a r t e r a t R e m i n g t o n P a r k .
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THE LIGHTER SIDE