KY Rules Update Provides Chance for Trainer Rebuttal

As part of a comprehensive update of its rules, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission has approved a change that specifically will allow trainers with a medication positive to provide rebuttal during hearings.

While most of the rule changes were aimed at streamlining, KHRC general counsel John Forgy noted there were some substantive changes included in the update, which figures to be put in place in the first quarter of 2019 after going through the Legislative Research Commission.

Forgy outlined the changes during a special KHRC meeting Sept. 25 at Kentucky Horse Park. He focused on substantive changes included in the update, which included claiming rule changes to provide protection when horses are injured during a race.

The updates to Kentucky's absolute insurer rule follow an August 2017 Franklin (Ky.) Circuit Court decision that overturned a 2015 methocarbamol positive against trainer Graham Motion. Forgy noted the KHRC is appealing that decision.

Still, the commission approved updating current rule language to clarify that a trainer can present rebuttal evidence after a positive in hearings before stewards, hearing officers, or the commission. In defining the trainer as absolute insurer—the person responsible for the horse's condition—the KHRC approved added language that says, "in the absence of substantial evidence to the contrary."

The KHRC also approved changes to its minimum sanctions to allow stewards more flexibility in making those decisions. Forgy said those changes will allow stewards to consider mitigating circumstances in determining penalties.

In another potentially big update that involves a word or two, the KHRC approved changing current language talking about a substance's potential to impact performance to a substance foreign to the horse. Forgy noted that when medication cases were contested, the current language often led to drawn out, confusing debate from experts on different sides about a substance's impact on performance.

The rules update also included the claiming rule changes approved earlier this year by the KHRC which make the transfer of the horse to a new owner official only after the horse has left the testing barn. If a horse who has been claimed is injured during the race, or is placed on the vet's list after the race, the claim can be voided.

KHRC chairman Frank Kling Jr. congratulated the staff, adding that they put in more work to updating the rules than any other state agency. Commissioner Mark Simendinger, who chairs the KHRC rules committee, said staff put in more than 1,000 hours updating the rules.

Forgy noted that much of that effort was clarifying rules and eliminating redundancies. He said that many of the KHRC rules were repeated for Thoroughbreds, Standardbreds, and all other breeds. He said those have now been condensed and rare rule differences between breeds are noted.

The effort was part of Gov. Matt Bevin's "Red Tape Reduction Initiative," which Forgy said aims to reduce regulatory burdens where possible, make regulations more readable, clear, and user friendly, and eliminate excessive forms.