Kentucky Racing Commission Passes Clenbuterol Reform

Under opposition from a commissioner representing the Standardbred industry, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission passed restrictions on clenbuterol Dec. 8 that were suggested by the Kentucky Equine Drug Research Council last week.

Clenbuterol is a medication that can be used therapeutically to assist horses with respiratory difficulties but is suspected to have been abused due to its muscle-development properties. This has led regulators across parts of North America to implement restrictions meant to curb its use beyond treating horses with lower airway disease.

Under the terms of the regulation passed Tuesday by the KHRC, clenbuterol will be prohibited for all breeds unless a horse meets three conditions. Those include a prescription for a specific diagnosis, the transfer of its treatment records to the corresponding track equine medical director, and a requirement that a treated horse be placed on the veterinarian's list for a period of a minimum of 21 days, said Jennifer Wolfsing, KHRC general counsel. Horses on the veterinarian's list are not allowed to compete. 

Commissioner Alan Leavitt, and owner and breeder of Standardbreds and one of only a couple representatives of that industry on the commission, was the only individual to vote against the motion's passage. He said Standardbreds are paying for the "sins of Quarter Horse people and the Thoroughbred people," and called it helpful in harness racing, where horses might race on a weekly basis.

"I'm opposed to this, and I wish that the 'do-gooders' would just leave us alone because we don't abuse clenbuterol and it's very helpful to keep our horses very safe," he told fellow commissioners. 

Several commissioners, including sales consignor Kerry Cauthen and Dr. Foster Northrop, countered that clenbuterol reform was necessary. The latter is a practicing veterinarian at Kentucky racetracks.

"I understand what Mr. Leavitt is talking about but any drug out there that has an ability to be misused and overused—and to get a benefit the drug wasn't originally meant for—needs stricter guidance," Northrop said.

He said the drug is being abused in sales in addition to racing.

Commissioner Ken Jackson, a Standardbred owner and breeder, voted in favor of the clenbuterol restrictions.

"There is clearly no evidence of physiological differences between Standardbreds and Thoroughbreds and how they met metabolize medicines," Jackson said. "Arguing that certain medications should be or should not be used based upon a weekly racing schedule or in some people's case, a business model, to me is a dangerous and risky path to go down."

The passage of clenbuterol restrictions was the only debated issue during Tuesday's meeting, most of which entailed passing routine motions.

KHRC staff reported on-track handle remains down sharply at Kentucky tracks this year due to COVID-19, while historical horse racing gaming is up despite capacity restrictions. Ellis Park had its October HHR handle double from the same period last year to more than $18.7 million, though it still is far behind the betting generated at Kentucky Downs and the Churchill Downs-owned Derby City Gaming, both of which handled over $100 million in HHR in October.

The KHRC reported one musculoskeletal equine fatality from training during the October meet at Keeneland and one racing fatality that came there during the two days of the Breeders' Cup Nov. 6-7.