Sessions on pre-race veterinary examinations, documentation, medication rules, and more. | Photo: Anne M. Eberhardt/The Horse

A cooperative spirit permeated Day 1 of the inaugural Regulatory/Official Veterinary Continuing Education (CE) Conference (#RegVetCE) as a capacity group of 61 attendees, representing more than 100 racetracks worldwide, gathered at Keeneland, in Lexington, Kentucky, on June 25 to trade ideas and emphasize the importance of formal information sharing between jurisdictions.

The two-day continuing education conference for regulatory and official racetrack veterinarians, presented by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) Safety & Integrity Alliance and the Racing Medication & Testing Consortium (RMTC), focused its early sessions on pre-race examinations, including the importance of documentation. The afternoon was highlighted by hands-on field demonstrations using active racehorses stabled at Keeneland.

Mary Scollay, DVM, longtime Kentucky Horse Racing Council equine medical director, kicked off the program with a stage-setting presentation, “What Do Regulatory Veterinarians Need to Know?” A former track vet who was one of the architects of The Jockey Club’s Equine Injury Database, Scollay urged practitioners to be mindful of their core values while dealing with daily demands