A recommendation to lower the recommended threshold for phenylbutazone (Bute) from 5 micrograms per milliliter of plasma or serum to 2 micrograms per milliliter of plasma or serum will be considered by the Model Rules Committee of the Association of Racing Commissioners International.

The bute recommendation will be considered by the Model Rules Committee during a conference call on Friday, Sept. 17 at 1 p.m. (EDT).

"This potential change seeks to address concerns raised by the RCI regulatory veterinarians committee that the current policy may jeopardize the ability of regulatory veterinarians to conduct a valid pre-race examination of racing equines since current research indicates that higher levels of Bute potentially interfere with pain perception in the equine athletes," RCI said in a release.

"Based on this concern, RCI requested a review of this matter as well a review of current the corticosteroids policy by the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium late last year. The RMTC Scientific Advisory Committee, chaired by Dr. Rick Arthur of the California Horse Racing Board and comprised of Drs. Bobby Lewis, Tom Brokken, Rick Sams, Tom Tobin, Larry Soma, Al Kind, George Maylin, Scott Stanley, and Don Catlin, made a recommendation that was adopted by the RMTC in April and forwarded to RCI