NY Regulators to Advance Slate of New Rules

New York regulators will advance new rules next week affecting everything from equine drug violation penalties and backstretch housing requirements to safety equipment worn at racetracks.

The New York Gaming Commission posted its agenda Dec. 7 for a board meeting next week that is expected to give final approval to a previously proposed action to help set minimum national standards for violations of drug rules.

"The adoption of this proposed rule will help to discourage Thoroughbred horsepersons from having recurring violations of equine drug rules,'' read the rule set to be given final approval Dec. 10 at a commission board meeting in Manhattan.

The changes to existing regulatory provisions are meant to bring New York state into conformance with model rules previously adopted by the Association of Racing Commissioners International. The rules use a points-based system that increases penalties over time as a way to crack down on what the agency called "habitual or persistent" violators of equine drug rules.

The board is also expected to give final approval to a rule that gives some flexibility in claiming race regulations.

The commission will leave in place a requirement that the minimum price for a horse entered in a claiming race shall not be less than 50% of the value of the race's purses.

But it will amend the rule by allowing the commission to approve changes in that requirement only if the track where the race occurs has implemented "enhanced measures to ensure close examination of the competitiveness, soundness, and safety of each horse in such races,'' according to a staff memo to the commission's board.

On Monday, the commission is also set to OK the first step in a rule-making process to model backstretch housing regulations after the state's existing migrant farm workers' housing requirements as now set by the Department of Health.

Across New York state, there are 2,512 beds to house backstretch workers, with 90% of those at New York Racing Association tracks, according to regulators. The new rules, when given final adoption in the months ahead, would appear only to apply—at least only in the beginning—to NYRA-owned tracks.

The proposed rules would set everything from minimum standards for hot water temperature levels to height and overall size of rooms, flooring material requirements, and pest management systems. It would carve out a specific set of rules affecting tracks to determine when a public health hazard is present, which the proposed rules define as "any condition that reasonably could be expected to be responsible for illness, physical injury, or death.''

The plan would define a specific remediation process to correct housing deficiencies and require annual inspections of backstretch housing by state or local officials. The rules would cover fire safety standards, electrical systems, and water quality, among others.

A second rule expected to be given preliminary approval Monday would expand requirements for use of safety helmets and vests at racetracks to cover any purpose mounted on a horse.

It also calls for increasing the maximum weight of safety vests from two to four pounds "to permit the wearing of newer vest models, which provide enhanced safety,'' a staff memo to the board states. It also mandates that safety helmets be worn by starting gate crews.

If approved Monday, both the backstretch housing and safety helmet/vest proposals would be open to public comments and require final approval by the commission.