Horses
racing in Kentucky will now be identified the morning of their
respective races and before leaving the paddock following a directive
from Jim Gallagher, executive director of the Kentucky Horse Racing
Authority (KHRA).Gallagher, during an Oct. 18 KHRA meeting at
Churchill Downs, told authority members the state veterinarian would now
check the lip tattoo of all horses entered on the day's card, and the
tattoos would be checked again and verified in the afternoon by the
horse identifier prior to leaving the paddock for the track.
Gallagher said if the state veterinarian couldn't verify the lip
tattoo--if the horse is unruly or if the tattoo is faded or difficult to
read--the horse identifier would be notified and required to do a full
inspection of the horse.
The new directive follows an incident at Ellis Park (a track near
Henderson, Ky., and Evansville, Ind.) this summer in which the horse
Boggy Creek wasn't properly identified and ran under the name Parker
Valley in a maiden race. Boggy Creek finished fifth.
"There were a series of missteps that happened at Ellis Park during
the summer," Gallagher said. "If these procedures are followed, these
mix-ups will not occur in the future. This new directive is meant to be
a duplication of work."
In another directive, Kentucky will now require trainers or owners of
horses that test positive for a prohibited substance to sign a release
form if they waive their right to appeal the drug positive and choose
not to have the split sample tested at an independent laboratory.
