Thoroughbred — Chapter 39: Out of Competition Program

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39.01    The Registrar, or his or her Delegate, may require that biological samples be taken from a horse at any time or place and without prior notice.

39.02    The samples provided pursuant to the Rules will be taken by a veterinarian employed by the Commission an Official Veterinarian, or a qualified person approved by the Commission Supervisor of Veterinarians, to determine whether or not the horse has any drug, medication or other substance in its system.

39.03    Biological samples include, but are not limited to, blood, hair, saliva and urine from the horse.

39.04    Where the Registrar, or his or her delegate, has required that a biological sample be provided, the horse will be made available forthwith by the owner as recorded with the breed registry body and/or trainer of record of the horse, or, if the trainer of record of the horse is not readily available, any assistant trainer, or, if there is no assistant trainer, or, if no assistant trainer is readily available, any groom employed by the trainer of record of the horse.

39.05    The failure or refusal, following notification as described in Rule 39.04 to make a horse available, forthwith, for biological sampling may result in one or more of the following sanctions:

  1. The horse may be scratched from any race it is entered into;
  2. The owner or trainer may be prevented from entering any horse(s) in future races in Ontario; and
  3. The owner or trainer may become subject to a monetary penalty and/or suspension.

39.06    No licensee, other than those authorized by the Registrar, may obtain biological samples from any horse located off of the grounds of an Association for the purposes described in these rules.

39.07    The Registrar may direct a laboratory to retain and preserve samples for future analysis.  Any decision with respect to the Registrar’s direction is not subject to appeal.

39.08    The Registrar may, at his or her discretion fix a time period which is not subject to appeal, that the sample(s) will be stored for, and may order the destruction of stored samples as he or she sees fit.

39.09    In accordance with the Horse Racing Licence Act, 2015, owners and/or trainers of horses shall allow a person designated by the Registrar acting upon reasonable grounds that the business of horse racing in any or all of its forms is taking place, access at any reasonable time, whether on or off the grounds of a racing association, to the following:

  1. Stabling areas;
  2. Training areas; and/or
  3. Vehicles and/or trailers used for the transportation of horses or the business of horseracing.

Access shall be granted for the purposes of:

  1. Conducting inspections for illegal or non-therapeutic medications or drugs, including any drug, substance, article or medication listed in Rule 15.31.01,or other device described in the Rules; and/or
  2. Subject to the Horse Racing Licence Act, 2015, seizing any suspected illegal or non-therapeutic medication or drugs, including any drug, substance, article or medication listed in Rule 15.31.01, or other device described in the Rules. Any medication, drug, substance, article or device seized may be forwarded by the Commission for analysis to a lab of its choice.

For the purposes of Rule 39.09, a horse shall be deemed to be:

  1. A horse that has raced in the past 60 days or is within 60 days of racing and/or workout;
  2. A horse qualified to race in Ontario;
  3. A horse entered to race in Ontario; and/or
  4. A registered Thoroughbred.