Gulfstream Park in Hallandale, Beach, Fla., has not set a timetable for possible future contact with Florida racing regulators on chairman Frank Stronach’s goal of phasing out use of legal race-day medications such as the anti-bleeding drug Salix.

In a July 13 letter to Milton Champion, director of the Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering (DPMW), Stronach asked if that state agency would "help me implement a program that will phase out all race-day medication, including (Salix)." One horsemen’s representative called the proposal a "terrible mistake."

The Florida DPMW is reviewing the letter, agency spokeswoman Beth Frady said July 20. "We are waiting for a response from the state," Tim Ritvo, Gulfstream’s vice president for racing, said July 20 when asked if Gulfstream Park planned to send the Florida DPMW a more detailed request for changes in state medication rules.

According to the Florida DPMW, it is possible to change state rules for Thoroughbred tracks through a regulatory process. Or, Gulfstream or another track could set medication rules that would apply only to that track