At its October 13 meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, the board of directors of the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium (RMTC) took several actions designed to improve the health and safety of horses. The group also received important updates on a variety of reform initiatives currently in process nationwide.

One major action the board took was approving recommendations from the RMTC’s scientific advisory committee to add four new medications to the current list of controlled therapeutic substances (CTS). The RMTC voted to add these four medications at the urging of the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP).

The medications are:

• Ranitidine—an anti-ulcer medication;
• Cimetidine—an anti-ulcer medication;
• Cetirizine—an antihistamine; and
• Guaifenesin—an expectorant.

The Kentucky Equine Drug Research Council, working in conjunction with the University of California, Davis, Kenneth L. Maddy Equine Analytical Chemistry Laboratory, performed the research necessary to support inclusion of these medications on the CTS list. The RMTC will now present these four medications to the Association of Racing Commissioners International (RCI) and advocate for their inclusion in the RCI model rules