DRUG SCREEN ATTACHMENT
The Driving Horse & Pony Club (”hereinafter the Club”) have adopted the following protocol
for drug testing and the taking of blood samples for drug testing, as follows:1) There will be random drug testing for any drug, stimulant, depressant, narcotic or
hypnotic. Blood will be drawn for testing. The horse will be permitted to race until such
time as the results of the test is made known.
2) If any owner/driver refuses to allow blood testing on their horse or pony, their refusal will
constitute suspension form racing for a time to be determined by the Executive
Committee.
3) If any horse or pony tests positive for any drug, stimulant, depressant, narcotic or
hypnotic, a mandatory sentence will be imposed. (See below for the sentences):
4) The President of the Club may nominate any qualified veterinarian authorized to practice
veterinary medicine under the laws of the Bermuda (hereinafter referred to as the
“Nominated Veterinarian”) to perform the drug testing protocol set out herein. Drug
testing will be done randomly at the Nominated Veterinarian’s discretion up to the total
cost of $2,000.00 per race season. The vet used will be different each year.
5) At any Race Meet of the Club, the Nominated Veterinarian may take blood or urine
samples from any pony entered for that Race Meet in the following manner.
a) At each Race Meet the Judge shall provide the Nominated Veterinarian with
individual slips on which is written the names of the ponies, their respective
owners and the drivers for that meet. All the slips are to be contained in a bag
which will enable the Nominated Veterinarian to draw, blind from the bag, the
names of the ponies to be tested at that Race Meet. The Nominated Veterinarian
can draw a blood or urine sample at any time of the day of the Race Meet. For
clarity, this means before, during or after the races that day.
The
owner/trainer/driver/groom of that pony shall make the pony available at any time
as requested by the Nominated Veterinarian on race day.
b) The Nominated Veterinarian shall take a blood or urine sample from the pony and
shall seal the sample in the manner approved and provided by the testing
laboratory.
c) The Nominated Veterinarian shall then take the said sample to a courier service
where the Club shall have an account and the Nominated Veterinarian shall
personally seal the courier package which shall then be sent to the Cantest Testing
Facility located at 4606 Canada Way, Burnaby, British Columbia whereupon the
sample shall be tested by Cantest for the presence of banned substances.
d) The Cantest test results shall be returned to the Nominated Veterinarian who shall
then forward the results immediately upon receiving them to the President of the
Club.
6) In the event a positive test result is received:
a) If a test result shows positive for a banned substance, the President of the Club
shall immediately inform the Chairman of the Discipline Panel who shall convene
a meeting of the Discipline Panel.
b) The Chairman of the Discipline Panel shall then provide a formal written notice to
the owner and driver or drivers of the pony on the race day that the sample was
drawn that a positive test result has been received for the presence of a banned
substance and that the owner and driver or drivers of the pony at the Race Meet at
which the sample was drawn are to attend before a Discipline Panel hearing to be
held before the next race day, if possible.
c) In the event the hearing cannot be held before the next race day, the owner, pony
and driver or drivers are automatically suspended from participating in any event
of the Club until the Discipline Panel hearing is held.
7) Rules for Bute and Lasixs only:
At the Special General Meeting of the Club held on February 26th, 2009, the following
rules were adopted:
a) Bute is not to be used on any two year old ponies at any time. Three year old
ponies and older may use Bute with a vet’s certificate only but may not use it
during any stakes or money races.
b) Lasix can be used at all times by ponies of all ages with a vet’s certificate only.
8) Punishments:
At the Special General Meeting of the Club held on February 26th, 2009, the punishments
for the presence of banded substances were adopted:
a) Only the pony that tested positive will be suspended from racing by the
Disciplinary Committee.
b) The driver of any pony that tests positive will be suspended for the period of time
allocated by the Disciplinary Committee.
c) The suspension time for a first offence for the owner, driver and pony will be 5
race days, not including rain dates. The suspension will double for each offence
thereafter for the owner, driver and pony.
d) There will be one fine amount allocated for each positive drug test result to be
paid prior to the pony in question being allowed to race again under any
ownership.
e) The fine will be a mandatory $250.00 for the first offence for the owner, driver or
pony to double for each offence thereafter.
f) Each owner, driver and pony that is suspended for drug use will have their record
cleaned after a period of two calendar years to begin on the date that their
suspension begins. If they are caught within the 2 year period a new two year
period will begin on the date of the new suspension.
g) The above changes will apply to anyone penalized in the 2008 ~ 2009 Season and
their punishments will be changed accordingly.
h) No points, trophies, blankets or monetary winnings will be awarded to any pony
that is tested until their results return negative for any drug use.
Information on Cantest and a list of banned substances is as follows:
CANTEST follows a set of Laboratory Standard Operating Procedures that were developed
internally and are based largely on those prescribed by the U.S.E.P.A. Strict attention and
documentation of sample receipt, analyses, and chain of custody are maintained in the
laboratory. Quality control procedures are documented and follow guidelines established during
the internal validation process of all analytical methodology.
Equipment and Facilities
All sample analysis will be performed at CANTEST Ltd. located at 4606 Canada Way, Burnaby,
B.C. (just ten minutes east of the Vancouver central business core). The laboratory is easily
accessed from all major arterial routes in to Greater Vancouver and is within 20 minutes of the
Vancouver International Airport.
Routine Urine Screen
The urine samples will be extracted using a solid-phase extraction (SPE) method employing
XAD-2 resin. Three eluates are collected from the resin; one eluted at a basic pH contains basic,
neutral and weakly acidic drugs; one collected at an acidic pH contains strong acidic drugs and
the final alcohol elution contains drug conjugates. All urine samples are hydrolyzed and then
extracted using a direct liquid/liquid extraction procedure (DLE) to detect drug conjugates;
approximately 80% of the samples are acid hydrolyzed and 20% base hydrolyzed.
The extracts are analyzed using Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC). The acid fraction is applied
to one TLC plate and the basic/neutral/weak acid fraction is applied to three TLC plates with
each one developed in different solvents and visualized with different spray reagents. The
extracts collected after acid and/or base hydrolysis are each applied to two TLC plates.
This procedure allows detection of a tremendous number of different substances. It is highly
effective in detecting the majority of drugs and medications administered to racehorses. Due to
its ability to detect drugs from many different classes with different functionalities it is an
excellent tool for detecting the “unknown” substance. The method was validated using a list of
drugs selected to cover many different classes. This list is not exhaustive but indicates the
applicability of this method for drug screening equine urine samples.
The method can detect the following drug groups:
1. Stimulants/Antihistamines
Amphetamine
Diphenhydramine
Nicotine
Apomorphine
Ephedrine
Phentermine
Caffeine
Methamphetamine
Phenylpropanolamine
Chlorpheniramine
Methylphenidate
2. Non-steroidal Anti-inflammatories/Analgesics
Acetaminophen
Ketorolac
Pentazocine
AcetylsalicylicAcid
Levorphanol
Phenylbutazone
Antipyrine
Fenoprofen
Rofecoxib
Buprenorphine
Flunixin
Salicylic Acid
Carprofen
Flufenamic Acid
Sulindac
Butorphanol
Indomethacin
Tenoxicam
Celecoxib
Ketoprofen
Tiaprofenic acid
Diclofenac
Meclofenamic Acid
Tolfenamic acid
Diflunisal
Mefenamic Acid
Tramadol
Dipyrone
Naproxen
Vedaprofen
Etodolac
Nefopam
Zomepirac
Dexamethasone
Prednisolone
Triamcinolone
Methylprednisoloe
Prednisone
3. Corticosteroids
4. Diuretics
Bumetanide
Hydrochlorothiazie
Furosemide
Trichlormethiazide
5. Tranquilizers/Sedatives
Acepromazine
Meperidine
Amobarbital
Methadone
Azaperone
Methaqualone
Chlorpromazine
Morphine
Codeine
Oxymorphone
Diazepam
Pentobarbital
Flurazepam
Promazine
Hydromorphone
Propionylpromazie
Xylazine
6. Anesthetics
Benzocaine
Bupivacaine
Chloroprocaine
Cocaine
Dibucaine
Ketamine
Lidocaine
Mepivacaine
Pyrilamine
Procaine
Tetracaine
7. Respiratory Aids
Atropine
Bromhexine
Brompheniramine
Chlorpheniramine
Clenbuterol
Dembrexine
Dextromethorphan
Diphenhydramine
Dyphylline
Guaifenesin
Pseudoephedrin
(Amended Jul 2014)