Section 603.70  Furosemide

 

a)         The Board recognizes that Exercise Induced Pulmonary Hemorrhage (EIPH) is almost universal in performance horses.  The Board also recognizes that the diuretic furosemide is helpful in the management of the EIPH syndrome, this includes horses that already had a bleeding episode as well as horses that have not yet exhibited the epistaxis.  In regulating the race day use of furosemide, the Board has placed strict controls on the dose, route and time the medication is administered.  Additionally, Board security personnel monitors these horses during and after the administration.  Advances in drug testing techniques permit the Board laboratory to quantitate post-race serum samples for furosemide, providing a thorough regulation of the drug.  All of these measures are designed to prevent the misuse of furosemide.

 

b)         Eligibility for Furosemide Treatment

A horse is eligible to race with furosemide if at least one of the following occurs:

 

1)         The horse is on the Illinois Furosemide List and has complied with subsection (c);

 

2)         The horse is on the Illinois Bleeder List and has complied with subsection (d);

 

3)         The trainer provides the State Veterinarian or his or her designee with evidence that the horse is on the Furosemide List or Bleeder List in another racing jurisdiction.  Acceptable evidence shall be a furosemide or bleeder certificate approved by an official veterinarian.  The certification date shall be the date shown on the furosemide or bleeder certificate;

 

4)         The trainer provides the State Veterinarian or his or her designee with evidence that the horse has been running consistently, up to its last start, with furosemide in other racing jurisdictions as shown on the official past performance lines.  Acceptable past performance lines for thoroughbreds and/or quarter horses shall be Equibase and/or Racing Form.  Acceptable past performance lines for standardbreds shall be the official past performances of the United States Trotting Association (USTA) or Canadian Trotting Association (CTA) or the eligibility papers.  The certification date shall be the earliest available date the horse shows running with furosemide on the official past performance lines.  If the past performance lines of a horse show that the horse has been running on and off furosemide in other racing jurisdictions, the horse shall not be permitted to run with furosemide in Illinois, unless the occasions the horse ran without furosemide were due to rule restrictions imposed on the horse by those particular racing jurisdictions.

 

c)         Furosemide List

Furosemide shall be administered to a horse that is entered to race only after the State Veterinarian has placed the horse on the Furosemide List.  In order for a horse to be placed on the Furosemide List, the following process shall be followed:

 

1)         After the horse's licensed trainer and licensed veterinarian determine that it would be in the horse's best interests to race with furosemide, they shall notify the State Veterinarian or his or her designee, using the prescribed form provided by the Board, that they wish the horse to be placed on the Furosemide List.

 

2)         The form must be received by the State Veterinarian or his or her designee no later than the time of entry to ensure public notification prior to race participation.

 

3)         A horse placed on the Furosemide List must remain on that list until the licensed trainer and licensed veterinarian submit a written request to remove the horse from the list.  The request must be made to the State Veterinarian or his or her designee, on the proper form, no later than the time of entry.

 

4)         After a horse has been removed from the Furosemide List, the horse may not be placed back on the list for a period of 60 calendar days unless it is determined, in consultation with the State Veterinarian, to be detrimental to the welfare of the horse.  If a horse is removed from the Furosemide List a second time in a 365-day period, the horse may not be placed back on the list for a period of 90 calendar days.

 

d)         Bleeder List

 

1)         The State Veterinarian shall maintain a Bleeder List of all horses that have demonstrated:

 

A)        External evidences of exercise induced pulmonary hemorrhage from one or both nostrils during or after a race or workout, as observed by an official veterinarian.

 

B)        Internal evidences of exercise induced pulmonary hemorrhage via endoscopy reported by a licensed practicing veterinarian on a Board approved form.

 

2)         Every confirmed bleeder, regardless of age, shall be placed on the Bleeder List and be ineligible to race for the following time periods:

 

A)        First incident – 14 days;

 

B)        Second incident within a 365 day period – 30 days;

 

C)        Third incident within a 365 day period – 180 days;

 

D)        Fourth incident within a 365 day period – Barred from racing for its lifetime.

 

3)         For the purposes of counting the number of days a horse is ineligible to run, the day the horse bled is the first day of the recovery period.

 

4)         After the expiration of the barred periods in subsections (d)(2)(A), (B) and (C), a horse must perform a workout, without bleeding, to the satisfaction of the State Veterinarian.  Prior to the workout, a blood sample may be collected by the State Veterinarian and sent to the Board laboratory for testing.  After the workout, the State Veterinarian may witness an endoscopic examination of the horse to confirm that it has not bled.

 

5)         All horses on the Bleeder List that are eligible to race shall be administered furosemide pursuant to subsection (f).

 

e)         Furosemide Administration

 

1)         All horses on the Furosemide List must be treated with furosemide in order to be permitted to participate in a race. Test results must show a detectable concentration of the drug in the post-race urine sample if a horse is on the Furosemide List.

 

2)         Furosemide shall be administered between 4 hours and 15 minutes and 3 hours and 45 minutes prior to the scheduled post time of the race in which a horse is entered.

 

3)         A Board licensed veterinarian shall administer not less than 150 mg and not more than 500 mg of furosemide by single intravenous injection and shall verify the administration on Board prescribed affidavits no later than one hour prior to the post time for the race for which the horse is entered.

 

4)         The trainer or his or her licensed employee shall witness the furosemide administration.

 

5)         The administration of furosemide may take place in the horse's own stall or in a centralized location.

 

6)         Failure to administer furosemide in accordance with subsection (e)(2) may result in the horse being scratched from the race by the Stewards and the trainer may be fined not less than $200 and not more than $500.

 

f)         Removal from Bleeder List

 

1)         Once a horse is placed on the Bleeder List, it must continue to race with furosemide unless the removal from the list is approved by the State Veterinarian.  The State Veterinarian may remove a horse from the Bleeder List upon written request of the trainer, if the horse's performance is negatively affected by the use of furosemide or if the horse has an adverse physiological reaction to furosemide.

 

2)         Once removed from the Bleeder List, a thoroughbred horse shall be ineligible to participate in a race for a minimum of 30 days.  A standardbred horse shall be ineligible for a minimum of 14 days.  The ineligibility period shall be counted from the day the State Veterinarian approves the removal of the horse from the Bleeder List.  Prior to starting in a race, a horse must participate without furosemide in a qualifying race or perform an official workout without bleeding, to the satisfaction of the State Veterinarian.  Prior to the qualifying race or workout, a blood sample may be collected by the State Veterinarian and sent to the Board laboratory for testing.  After the qualifying race or workout, the State Veterinarian may witness an endoscopic examination of the horse to confirm that it has not bled.

 

g)         Absence of Furosemide

In the event a horse listed on the furosemide list races without furosemide, the horse shall be disqualified and any purse money earned by the horse redistributed.  In addition, the stewards may suspend or fine the trainer and/or veterinarian not less than $200 and not more than $1,500.

 

h)         Excessive Use of Furosemide

 

1)         The test level for furosemide shall be less than 100 ng/ml in serum or plasma. A horse shall not carry in its body an amount of furosemide greater than or equal to 100 ng/ml in serum or plasma, in conjunction with urine that has a specific gravity of less than 1.010.

 

2)         If the laboratory reports an official test sample of furosemide greater than or equal to 100 ng/ml and specific gravity less than 1.010, the trainer shall be subject to the following penalties:

 

A)        For a first offense, the trainer shall be fined $250;

 

B)        For a second offense within a 365 day period after the first offense, the trainer shall be fined $500;

 

C)        For a third or subsequent offense within a 365 day period after the first offense, the trainer shall be fined $1,000 and/or suspended for 15 days and the purse shall be redistributed.

 

3)         When imposing penalties, the stewards shall consider the criteria in Section 603.160(b)(3), (4), (5) and (6).

 

i)          Trainer's Responsibilities for Horses on the Furosemide List

 

1)         The trainer shall be responsible for:

 

A)        providing the racing office at the time of entry with accurate information regarding the use of furosemide on horses he/she enters to race;

 

B)        providing the information required for furosemide approval of his/her horses to Board staff coordinating the administration of furosemide;

 

C)        notifying his/her veterinarian of furosemide horses and the date and times for race day treatment;

 

D)        having horses on the furosemide list stabled at the barn and in the stall assigned by the Racing Secretary or his/her designee;

 

E)        posting a "Security Stall" sign on the stalls of his/her horses entered to race (see 11 Ill. Adm. Code 436);

 

F)         ensuring horses are treated with furosemide on race day at the prescribed time, witnessing the administration of furosemide and guarding the horse until the horse is taken to the paddock (see 11 Ill. Adm. Code 436).

 

2)         The stewards may suspend the trainer or assess a fine of no less than $200 and no more than $500 for violation of this subsection (i).

 

j)          Veterinarian's Responsibilities

 

1)         The practicing veterinarian shall be responsible for:

 

A)        administering the proper furosemide medication and dose at the proper time to the proper horse.

 

B)        providing Board staff, upon request, with any documentation related to horses that are stabled on approved facilities and medication samples and/or paraphernalia used to administer any medication to a horse.  Samples and/or paraphernalia may be sent to the Board laboratory for testing.

 

2)         The stewards may suspend the veterinarian or assess a fine of no less than $200 and no more than $500 for violations of this subsection (j).

 

k)         Security

 

1)          Each horse racing with furosemide shall be detained in a stall assigned by the Racing Secretary at least 4 hours and 15 minutes before the post time of the race in which it is entered, and shall remain in the stall until taken to the paddock to be saddled or harnessed for the race, except that the stewards may permit horses to leave the "security stall" to engage in exercise blow-outs or warm-up heats.

 

2)         The barn area is a secure area and shall be under the supervision of the Board.

 

3)         No unauthorized person shall approach the security area.  If any unauthorized person does approach the security area, a report of the incident is to be made immediately to one of the State Veterinarians, the stewards or a Board investigator.

 

4)         Board staff may direct a veterinarian to take a blood sample immediately prior to the administration of furosemide to be submitted to the Board's laboratory for analysis.

 

5)         Board staff may collect from a veterinarian the syringe containing any medication about to be administered to a horse for testing at the Board laboratory.

 

l)          This Section shall apply to all horses entering in and competing in race meetings as defined in Section 3.07 of the Act [230 ILCS 5/3.07], as well as all horses shipping in from other racing jurisdictions, domestic or foreign.

 

(Source:  Amended at 39 Ill. Reg. 11492, effective August 1, 2015)