The start of a new year could bring a change to Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority regulations covering the stand-down period for horses who receive intra-articular corticosteroid injections in the fetlock, with the time frame shifting from 14 to 30 days before the horse can race.
HISA CEO Lisa Lazarus said the change to a 30-day period is among revised rules for HISA’s racetrack safety program that have been sent to the Federal Trade Commission for consideration. She said it could take two to three months for the FTC to review the proposal and either approve or deny the request. After that, should the rule be approved, Lazarus expects the regulation to become a national standard shortly thereafter.
Before HISA began its rules across much of the nation, California had an existing rule prohibiting steroid fetlock injections within 30 days of a race.
“The FTC considers requests carefully and does its research, and there are a lot of other changes we submitted. So, it will probably take two to three months,” she said. “On HISA’s end, we have sent the proposed rule to the FTC for final approval.”:
Lazarus said the longer period between an intra-articular corticosteroid injection and a horse’s next race is an important step in safeguarding the sport’s equine athletes.
“It’s absolutely the right approach,” she said.
The HISA CEO added that the stand-down period for biological treatments such as interleukin-1 receptor antagonist protein blood treatments and platelet-rich plasma treatments would remain at its current 14-day threshold.
