An advisory panel to the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) has approved a recommendation to prohibit the race day use of adjunct bleeder medications in the state.

By a vote of 5-2, the Kentucky Equine Drug Research Council (EDRC) Aug. 19 agreed to include an adjunct bleeder medication ban in its final medication recommendations that will be sent to the full commission later. The EDRC is meeting on a regular basis as part of a process of reviewing and revising the state’s medication rules.

Mary Scollay, DVM, KHRC equine medical director, said the advisory board voted to recommend prohibition of adjunct bleeder medications, which can be administered to horses in addition to the common anti-bleeder medication Salix, as a matter of uniformity and because there is no scientific evidence "support the efficacy of adjunct bleeder medications." Adjunct bleeder medications include substances such as Tranex, Amicar, Premarin, Estrone, and Theelin.

Also, Scollay said, Kentucky racing has a higher rate of epistaxis (bleeding from the nose) than most other jurisdictions, indicating the possibility that the "availability of adjuncts has had a negative impact on the quality of horses running in Kentucky