The Association of Racing Commissioners International (ARCI) and the Association of Official Racing Chemists (AORC) will jointly hold a major racing industry roundtable and conference on equine welfare and medication policy April 21-23 at the Grand Hyatt Resort in Tampa, Florida.

"The ARCI is the only umbrella organization encompassing the totality of horse racing whose members create and enforce rules and adjudicate racing disputes, said ARCI president Ed Martin. "The AORC is an international organization composed of chemists dedicated to the detection of prohibited substances in racing animals. The members of the AORC are on the front line of the most expansive anti-doping program in professional sport and we rely on them extensively to detect illegal drug use."

Topics to be discussed at the roundtable include:

• Coordination of investigatory intelligence;
• Expanded capabilities of testing laboratories;
• Emerging integrity threats;
• Effective strategies to combat doping;
• Applicability of hair testing to horse racing; and
• "Should we care about substances that do not affect performance or hurt the horse?"

During the conference the ARCI Drug Testing Standards and Practices Committee will consider any recommended policy changes to take effect in 2016