Title of Regulation: 11VAC10-50. Racing Officials (amending 11VAC10-50-40).

Statutory Authority: § 59.1-369 of the Code of Virginia.

Effective Date: April 16, 2012.

Agency Contact: David S. Lermond, Jr., Regulatory Coordinator, Virginia Racing Commission, 10700 Horsemen's Lane, New Kent, VA 23024, telephone (804) 966-7404, FAX (804) 966-7418, or email david.lermond@vrc.virginia.gov.

Summary:

The amendments require the licensee's veterinarian to be approved by the Virginia Racing Commission and to work under the direction of the commission veterinarian. The amendments further define the duties of the licensee's veterinarian to include (i) assisting in the supervision and collection of samples in the test barn, (ii) revising the veterinarian's list, and (iii) humanely destroying a seriously injured horse when it is in the best interests of the horse to do so.

11VAC10-50-40. Licensee's veterinarian.

The licensee shall appoint a qualified person to act as the licensee's veterinarian for the race meeting. The licensee's veterinarian shall possess a full and unrestricted license to practice veterinary medicine from the Virginia Board of Veterinary Medicine and shall be present within the enclosure on racing days to perform his duties. The licensee's veterinarian shall be approved by the commission and shall be designated to work under the authority and direction of the commission veterinarian. The duties of the licensee's veterinarian include, but are not limited, to:

1. Making the Performing prerace examination examinations of the horses entered to race on that day's program under the supervision of the commission veterinarian, and recommending to the stewards that horses found to be unfit for racing be scratched;

2. Observing the horses in the paddock and being present at the starting gate, where he can recommend to the stewards scratching any horse that he deems to be unfit for racing;

3. Observing all of the horses after the finish of a race and upon their leaving the racing surface for injuries or lameness;

4. Rendering emergency care to horses injured either in workouts or racing when a practicing veterinarian is not readily available to perform these services; and

5. Assisting the commission veterinarian in determining those horses which that are bleeders, either through observing the horse bleed from the nostrils after a workout or a race, or by observing a private practitioner's endoscopic examination of a horse following a workout or race, or by retrieving information from other racing jurisdictions;

6. Assisting the commission veterinarian in the supervision and collection of samples in the test barn;

7. Placing horses on the veterinarian's list and observing workouts as needed to remove horses from the veterinarian's list; and

8. Being authorized to humanely destroy any horse deemed to be so seriously injured that it is in the best interests of the horse to so act.