TUCSON, Ariz. (Tuesday, December 8, 2015) – The National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) announced today that an updated set of racetrack safety and integrity standards has been approved by members of the NTRA Safety & Integrity Alliance Advisory Board and the full board of the NTRA. The compliance standards will serve as the basis for future racetrack Alliance accreditation. The news was presented by Safety & Integrity Alliance Executive Director Steve Koch during a session on medication testing laboratories at the University of Arizona Race Track Industry Program Global Symposium on Racing & Gaming.
The material changes to sections 3.G and 3.H within the Code of Standards encourage governing jurisdictions to adopt criteria set forth by the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium pertaining to official testing laboratories.
A new subsection of 3.H was adopted as follows:
3.H. Laboratory Selection and Performance Standards
Members shall insist that local regulatory authorities implement industry performance standards and quality control mechanisms consistent with RMTC’s “Model Request for Proposals for Equine Drug Testing Laboratory” in their Official Testing Laboratory selection and performance criteria. Members shall require documentation from the local regulatory body specifying the adopted selection and performance criteria, and ongoing quality control protocols.
To the extent that the local regulatory body has not so adopted RMTC’s recommended performance standards and quality control protocols, Member shall advocate the adoption of such standards consistent with RMTC’s “Model Request for Proposals for Equine Drug Testing Laboratory”.
The Alliance’s 2016 Code of Standards can be reviewed at www.NTRAalliance.com.
The NTRA Safety and Integrity Alliance is a standing organization whose purpose is to establish standards and practices to promote safety and integrity in horseracing and to secure their implementation. More information on the Alliance can be found at www.NTRAalliance.com.
About the NTRA
The NTRA is a broad-based coalition of more than 100 horse racing interests and thousands of individual stakeholders consisting of horseplayers, racetrack operators, owners, breeders, trainers and affiliated horse racing associations, charged with increasing the popularity, welfare and integrity of Thoroughbred racing through consensus-based leadership, legislative advocacy, safety and integrity initiatives, fan engagement and corporate partner development. The NTRA owns and manages the NTRA Safety and Integrity Alliance; NTRA.com; the NTRA Top Thoroughbred and NTRA Top 3-Year-Old weekly media polls; the Eclipse Awards; the National Handicapping Championship; NTRA Advantage, a corporate partner sales and sponsorship program; and HORSE PAC, a federal political action committee. The NTRA has offices in Lexington, Ky., and New York City. NTRA press releases appear on NTRA.com, Twitter (@ntra) and Facebook (facebook.com/1NTRA).