Page 78 - April 2016

76 SPEEDHORSE, April 2016
Moving Forward
AQHA Convention WrAp-up the AQHA Convention was full of positive ideas and a commitment to grow the horse industry and improve the breed
by Sue Zuber
With the cloning lawsuit against the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) finally over, the 2016 AQHA Convention had an overall positive tone,
with meetings and forums focused on mov- ing the association forward into the future. Held March 11-14 in Las Vegas, the AQHA Convention included a small business work- shop and industry issues town hall meeting, committee meetings, year-end awards banquet, Hall of Fame banquet, and general member- ship and business meetings.
For the Quarter Horse racing industry, the biggest topic of discussion was the Multiple Medication Violation System (MMVS). Days before the convention started, the AQHA sent out a press release announcing the temporary suspension of the MMVS. The release stated: “After much discussion, the AQHA Executive Committee has determined that it is appropriate at this time to conduct a thorough evaluation
of the MMVS program, as well as how AQHA can best address medication abuse in the racing industry. During this evaluation, the MMVS will be temporarily suspended.”
In his President’s Letter, outgoing AQHA President Dr. Glenn Blodgett called the abuse of medication in the racing industry a “serious ani- mal welfare issue” and wrote: “With any new pro- gram or rule, the association continually evaluates the cost and benefit of the program to ensure that resources are devoted in the most effective way for achieving the goals of the program.
“I believe it is imperative that we address the performance-enhancing drugs in our indus-
try because we continue to see an incredible number of clenbuterol rulings from multiple jurisdictions, which is simply unacceptable,” Blodgett continued. “We are confident that following the evaluation of the MMVS and the many complicated issues that have been identi- fied since its inception, we will develop even more positive steps that can be taken to address the problem of medication abuse in racing and ensure that the American Quarter Horse racing industry thrives in the future.”
Developed in 2013 and implemented in 2014, the MMVS was modeled after the Association of Racing Commissioners International’s (ARCI)
model rules multiple violation system, which was introduced in 2013. The MMVS was based on a point system and set penalties for horses, trainers and owners for positive drug tests associated with their horses in addition to the penalties imposed by individual racing jurisdictions. Penalties increased in severity as a horse, trainer or owner accumulated points through multiple offenses.
“The primary goals for the MMVS include education of the issues and violators – we published lists of all penalties by horse, trainer and owner – penalty of those with multiple vio- lations across jurisdiction lines, and getting all jurisdictions closer to working on the same page to enforce consistent penalties,” said AQHA Racing Department Supervisor Jessica Hanke.
In the first six months of the program, from January 2014 to June 2014, 42 horses, 37 own- ers and 34 trainers were penalized under the MMVS. Of those, six trainers were suspended – two for five years and two for life – and one owner was suspended for life. Additionally, the participation privileges of seven horses were revoked for periods ranging from 150 days to three years. Prior to the implementation of the MMVS, the AQHA had suspended 37 trainers for medication violations from 2012-2013.
“It’s really an effort to try to get some uni- formity in the industry and in Quarter Horse racing,” AQHA Interim Director of Racing Jen Perkins said of the MMVS. “But, we were not really sure we were achieving the goals we wanted to achieve the way we were going about it.”
The temporary suspension of the program had a retroactive effect on existing violators and sus- pensions. According to the March 7 press release, “There will be no MMVS penalties issued for rac- es that occurred prior to March 7, 2016, or during the MMVS evaluation period thereafter. With respect to MMVS penalties (or points accumu- lated toward suspension) which have already been imposed, AQHA is commuting the suspensions and registration revocations effective immediately. Specifically, the end date for any active suspension or revocation will be March 7. AQHA will begin notifying affected individuals and racing jurisdic- tions by written correspondence.”
Moving forward, the AQHA will continue to collect medication violation data to track trends
while the MMVS is re-evaluated. For its own Bank of America Challenge program, the AQHA will implement hair sample testing for all regional and championship races, beginning in April.
“Since we’ve stopped (the MMVS), I’ve talk- ed to a lot of people who are disappointed, and a lot of people say, ‘I understand what you’re trying to do, but this might not have been the best way to go about it,’” Perkins added. “With so many people thinking that and all the rumors going around about why we might have stopped it, it just means it’s the right thing to pause it,” said Perkins. “We’re not a regulatory body, but we ended up being put in a position that that’s what we had to do. Do we go back to that? Do we find another way? How else can we work in the industry to accomplish those same goals?”
Many of the rumors were put to rest when AQHA Executive Vice President Craig Huffhines addressed the Racing Committee at its meeting during the convention, explaining the reasons for the program’s temporary suspen- sion and answering questions. Dr. Dionne Benson, executive director of the Racing Medi- cation and Testing Consortium, also spoke and explained that association’s efforts through its multiple violation system, out-of-competition testing and its controlled therapeutic schedule.
While clenbuterol is not the only drug being abused, its use appears to be widespread within the Quarter Horse industry and not isolated
to racing. The AQHA previously took a strong stand against clenbuterol when, on Nov. 15, 2015, it made clenbuterol a banned substance for show horses. The Executive Committee approved significant penalties for clenbuterol use, with a first-offense violation resulting in a $5,000 fine, disqualification of the horse, and a 180-day suspension of the responsible party.
Educational Efforts
The AQHA Convention kicked off on March 11 with the Professional Horsemen Small Busi- ness Workshop. A large crowd packed into one of the South Point Casino’s meeting rooms to listen to various industry experts who offered informa- tion and advice on several topics. Sponsored
by Merial, the workshop covered equine law,