RNSW_Oct 21_Col_W

pulsory treatment recording will improve stable medication practices more generally, and will hopefully reduce the incidence of inadvertent positives to therapeutic medications (the vast majority of "positive swabs" in racing). Please contact the Racing NSW Stewards (02 9551 7500) or Official Veterinarian (0419 921 579) for further information or assistance. ERYTHROPOIETIN Trainers and veterinarians are reminded that erythropoietin (EPO) is a prohibited substance as defined by the Australian Rules of Racing. Further, it is the view of Racing NSW that there is no legitimate place for the use of EPO in racehorses that are in work and racing. Industry participants are warned that EPO is only available for clinical use in humans on a special authority and that the supply and sale by unau- thorised persons is illegal. While potential benefits of EPO in human endurance events have been reported, EPO is unlikely to assist perfor- mance in racing animals and paradoxically, human recombinant EPO preparations have been shown to cause adverse side effects in the horse. UNREGISTERED, IMPROPERLY SUPPLIED AND COMPOUNDED MEDICATIONS Trainers and other thoroughbred racing industry participants should be aware of Australian Rule of Racing AR.80E. “AR.80E (1) Any person commits an offence if he has in his possession or on his premises any substance or preparation that has not been registered or labelled, or prescribed, dispensed or obtained, in compliance with the relevant State and Commonwealth legislation. (2) The Stewards may take possession of any substance or preparation mentioned in subrule (1), and may use it as evidence in any relevant pro- ceedings.” Implications of AR.80E In essence, this Rule makes it an offence for a trainer (or anyone else in charge of racehorses in training) to have in their possession or on their premises: • unregistered veterinary chemical products, • restricted prescription medicines (whether veterinary or human medicines) that have not been properly supplied and labelled, or • any other substances or products to be used in or on horses in their care that are compounded or manufactured outside of the regulatory framework governing the manufacture, supply and control of use of medicines and poisons in Australia. Explanation Veterinary medicines (or veterinary chemical products) This is a general term, meaning substances or mixtures of substances that are supplied or used for administration to an animal, by any means, as a way of: • preventing, diagnosing, curing or alleviating a disease or condition in the animal or an infestation of the animal by a pest; • curing or alleviating an injury suffered by the animal; • modifying the physiology of the animal so as to alter its natural devel- opment, productivity, quality or reproductive capacity; or to make it more manageable; or, • modifying the effect of another veterinary chemical product. Veterinary chemical products include prescription animal remedies, as well as unrestricted products that are open-sellers that can be obtained from veterinarians or other sources. Veterinary chemical products which fulfil any of the above-listed criteria should be registered with the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) and, accordingly, be sold with an APVMA registered label affixed to the prod- uct container and its packaging. It is therefore an offence under AR.80E for a trainer or other responsible person to have in his possession or on his premises any veterinary chem- ical product defined above that is not registered with the APVMA. Prescription (S4) medicines These include “Prescription Animal Remedies” which are veterinary med- icines included in poisons Schedule 4 that must only be prescribed and dispensed by a registered veterinarian in the practice of their profession for the treatment of animals. They also include “Prescription Only Medicines” for humans which can also be prescribed or supplied by vet- erinarians for use in horses. Prescription medicines (veterinary or human) used in racing stables must only be dispensed by a veterinarian or obtained from a pharmacy using a prescription supplied by a veterinarian. In addition to the registered man- ufacturer’s label, all such prescription medicines must have attached to them a label from the veterinarian or pharmacist that contains the follow- ing information: • the name of the owner or person having custody of the animal, • the horse’s name or an accurate description of the animal to be treated, • the date of supply, • the name, address and telephone number of the dispensing/prescrib- ing veterinarian, • the approved and proprietary names of the drug dispensed, • clear directions for use, • the words ‘KEEP OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN’ in capital RED let- ters, and • the words ‘For animal treatment only’ if the product is a human “Prescription Only Medicine”. The veterinarian’s or pharmacist’s label must be attached to the actual immediate container in which the preparation is supplied. Examples of prescription animal remedies include antibiotics, most anti-inflammatory drugs, corticosteroids (oral and injectable); bronchodi- lators, injectable local anaesthetics; topical skin preparations containing antibiotics and/or corticosteroids; and tranquillisers. It is therefore an offence under AR.80E for a trainer or other responsible person to have in his possession or on his premises any prescription medicine that is not properly supplied or is not labelled as described above. Unrestricted, non-prescription registered veterinary chemical products used in racehorses include deworming preparations; vitamin, mineral and nutritional supplements (oral and injectable); some vaccines; electrolytes; iron and other “blood building” agents; and topical liniments. These should be registered with the APVMA and sold with an APVMA registered label affixed to the product container and its packaging. There is also over-the-counter human medicines obtained from pharma- cies and elsewhere that have been used to treat racehorses. According to AR.80E, these must be listed or registered on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods. As many of these medicines contain prohibited sub- stances, extreme care must be exercised when using these products, and veterinary advice sought before any horse is treated with such products. Veterinary medicines available under APVMA permit Certain unregistered veterinary medicines are available under permit granted by the APVMA. Such medicines must only be supplied by a vet- erinarian according to the conditions imposed upon the permit holder (manufacturer) by the APVMA, as published on the APVMA website. Compounded medicines A person may only possess compounded veterinary medicines which have been prescribed by a veterinary practitioner for a particular horse for a particular condition, and where no other product registered for veteri- nary use can effectively treat that condition. This provision is intended to ensure that the prescription and use of compounded substances are controlled. In addition, a person is only permitted to possess a com- pounded substance where all active ingredients contained in the sub- stances are registered by the APVMA (or if not, the subject of an APVMA permit for use in horses) or registered or listed on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods. Use care when treating horses As a general reminder, trainers are urged to examine their stable medicine supplies for unregistered medicines, prescription medicines that are not properly labelled by a veterinarian, and medicines beyond their expiry date, and dispose of such products appropriately. STORING OF SAMPLES Trainers and others in the Racing Industry are officially notified of the provisions of AR.178DD: "(1) The Stewards may direct that samples taken from a horse pursuant to AR 8(j) be stored, in whole or in part, and shall be disposed of only as they direct. (2) Notwithstanding any other provision of the rules, the Stewards may direct that a stored sample, in whole or in part, be submitted or resubmit- ted for any test to determine whether any prohibited substance was at the relevant time present in the system of the horse from which the sample was taken. (3) For the avoidance of doubt, when a prohibited substance is detected in a stored sample submitted or resubmitted for testing in accordance with subrule (2), the provisions of AR 177A, AR 177B and AR 178 shall apply. (4) When a prohibited substance is detected in a stored sample submitted or resubmitted for testing in accordance with subrule (2) and that sample was taken from the horse prior to or following its running in any race, the provisions of AR 177 do not apply, provided that the horse concerned may be disqualified from any race in which it started on the day the sample was taken." This Rule empowers the Stewards to direct the Australian Racing Forensic Laboratory to store any race day samples taken from horses. Any samples may be analysed at a later date, and any positive finding on analysis would, prima facie, indicate a contravention of the relevant pro- visions of the Australian Rules of Racing. IMPORTANT NOTICE TO OWNERS AND TRAINERS REGARDING FORMALDEHYDE Racing NSW Stewards are aware of the existence of compounded injecta- ble products for horses containing the substance formaldehyde. Apart from being a prohibited substance, formaldehyde is also known to be toxic and potentially carcinogenic when given by injection, raising serious welfare 128 www.racingnsw.com.au PROHIBITED SUBSTANCES