Medication-Testing Consortium to hear more about steroids

March 20, 2008

The Racing Medication and Testing Consortium (RMTC) is scheduled to hear reports on a variety of subjects, including regulating anabolic steroids, when its board of directors meets on Tuesday, March 25, in Austin, Texas.

Current and upcoming RMTC-funded research projects and workshops, as well as RMTC penalty guidelines, are also on the agenda. Held in conjunction with the Association of Racing Commissioners International (RCI) annual convention, the week will also feature a racing medication roundtable moderated by RMTC chairman Dr. Robert Lewis. In addition to the RMTC, the Association of Official Racing Chemists and the National HBPA Executive Committee will be meeting at the RCI convention.

The RMTC is currently working with the University of California at Davis Ken Maddy Laboratory in sponsoring a workshop on the detection of androgenic and anabolic steroids in the horse. The workshop is scheduled for April 27-30 at UC-Davis. Representatives from Brazil, Chile, England, Greece, Belgium, Canada, Jamaica and almost every

U.S.

lab will be among those in attendance. The keynote speakers will be Dr. Don Catlin, director of the Anti-Doping Research Institute and former director of the UCLA Olympic Laboratory, and Dr. Ed Houghton, formerly of Horseracing Forensic Laboratory in Newmarket, England, one of the world�s foremost experts in anabolic steroid testing in the racehorse. Additional presentations will be conducted by Drs. Rick Arthur, Rohan Thakur, Dr. Richard Sams, Heather Knych and Scott Stanley.

In other news, the RMTC website (www.rmtcnet.com) has been refreshed. New additions to the website include more efficient navigation, new graphics on the progress of model medication rules and recommended penalty adoptions, list of donors, online charitable contribution forms, and ready access to RMTC newsletters and updates.

The RMTC consists of 23 racing industry stakeholders and organizations that represent Thoroughbred, Standardbred and American Quarter Horse racing. The organization works to develop, promote and coordinate, at the national level, policies, research, and educational programs that seek to ensure the fairness and integrity of racing, the health and welfare of racehorses and participants, and protect the interests of the betting public. (RMTC)

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