Officials gathered in New Orleans for the first Joint Conference of Racing Regulators approved model rules for a national medication policy. It calls for voluntary use of Salix on race days and use of one of three non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs no later than 24 hours before a race.

The boards of directors of the Association of Racing Commissioners International and North American Pari-Mutuel Regulators Association approved the rules April 3. Now, the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium must lobby regulators in each jurisdiction to enact the medication and drug-testing plan.

Under the policy, the only permitted race-day medication is Salix. For any other drug to qualify, there must be a “preponderance of scientific evidence” that it’s of therapeutic benefit to the horse, unlikely to affect performance, of no danger to jockeys, unlikely to interfere with the detection of other substances, and efficacious at reducing exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhaging