In a 12-month period that has seen drug compounders linked to horse deaths at a training center and integrity issues at the track, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) is researching ways it could add regulatory oversight of drug compounders.

Reform-minded KHRC rules committee chairman Ned Bonnie Aug. 27 called on fellow members of the committee to research the problems horse racing has encountered with drug compounders and come up with ideas to tackle the issue. The rules committee can make recommendations to the full commission.

"It's a serious matter in Kentucky and elsewhere," said Bonnie, who presented each of the committee members with research on compounders and other issues he hopes the committee will soon address.

Mary Scollay-Ward, DVM, the KHRC's equine medical director, said compounders operate under little federal oversight when compared to pharmaceutical companies that manufacture drugs. She said in recent months compounded medications have been linked to horse deaths and failed drug tests