Section 603.150  Post Mortems

a)         Every horse which suffers a breakdown on the race track in training or in competition and is destroyed, and every other horse which expires while stabled on the race track under the jurisdiction of the Board, shall undergo post-mortem examination at a time and place acceptable to the official veterinarian to determine the injury or sickness which resulted in euthanasia or natural death, except as provided herein:

1)         In the case of breakdowns, an examination of the affected area by a licensed veterinarian in the presence of, and in consultation with, the official veterinarian shall be sufficient; however, test samples shall be required.

2)         A post-mortem shall not be required if in the opinion of the State veterinarian a post-mortem is impractical or not necessary; however, test samples shall be required.

3)         Post-mortems shall not be required when death is due to fire.

b)         The post-mortem examination required under this Section shall be conducted by a veterinarian employed by the owner or the horse's trainer in the presence of and in consultation with an official veterinarian.

c)         Test samples must be obtained from the carcass upon which the post-mortem examination is conducted and shall be sent to the Illinois Racing Board laboratory for testing for foreign substances and natural substances at abnormal levels.  When practical, blood and urine samples should be procured prior to the euthanasia.

d)         The owner of the deceased horse shall make payment of reasonable charges due to the veterinarian employed to conduct the post-mortem examination.  The services of the State veterinarian and the laboratory testing of post-mortem samples shall be made available by the Board without charge to the owner.

e)         A record of every such post-mortem shall be filed with the State veterinarian, or with the Board if the race meeting has ended, by the owner's veterinarian within 72 hours of the death and shall be submitted on a form supplied by the Board.

f)         Each owner and trainer accepts the responsibility for the post-mortem examination provided herein as a requisite for maintaining the occupational license issued by the Board.