As the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) Racing Integrity and Drug Testing Task Force prepared to release the results of round two of its super-testing program (an initiative to identify drugs that may be used and to streamline the testing process), the University of Florida appropriately kicked off its first Equine Medical Symposium March 14 with discussion on some therapeutic medications.

Though the two aren’t necessarily linked, they put the spotlight on therapeutics, Class 4 and 5 medications that fall within a gray area of sorts in equine treatment. Their use has caused a rift between some factions in Kentucky, where many are legal on race day, and other states that allow them two or three days out.

Dr. Scot Waterman, who will take over as executive director of the NTRA task force from Jim Gallagher effective April 1, indicated the hard part has just begun. It was easy, he said, to identify Class 1, 2, and 3 drugs that aren’t supposed to be found in a horse’s system.

“To interpret what we’re finding with the Class 4s is really tough,” said Waterman, who took in presentations during opening day of the medical symposium held in Hollywood Beach, Fla. “It really becomes more of a veterinarian issue than an analytical issue. There are so many different methodologies, and one jurisdiction isn’t testing for them at all