A March 14 horsemen's meeting on upcoming equine medication changes in Kentucky revealed some interesting information: The four months of racing at Turfway Park are the "cleanest" in the state, according to regular analysis of drug-testing results.

During the meeting at Turfway, Mary Scollay, DVM, Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) equine medical director, provided an overview of the national uniform model rules on medication and drug testing, which should be in place in Kentucky later this spring. On a few occasions she indicated the changes will have minimal impact on horsemen at Turfway, located in northern Kentucky, in regard to therapeutic drugs during subsequent meets.

Scollay said results from the HFL Sport Science testing laboratory in Lexington don't register many traces of the bronchodilator clenbuterol in samples taken from Turfway horses. The same goes for corticosteroids, which can be problematic if administration guidelines aren't followed. The therapeutic drugs are regularly administered at some other racetracks.

"It doesn't look like a whole lot of corticosteroids are being used in this horse population," Scollay told Turfway horsemen