Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear Aug. 30 said regulations designed to reform some aspects of the state’s equine medication policy will be implemented despite action by a legislative committee that found them deficient.

Beshear’s decision came after an afternoon meeting with representatives of racing industry organizations that lobbied for their passage. The Kentucky Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association (HBPA) earlier lobbied members of the bipartisan Interim Joint Committee on Licensing and Occupations to reject the regulations, which they did Aug. 27.

The regulations, scheduled to take effect Sept. 6, opening day of the Turfway Park meet, ban adjunct bleeder drugs on race day; mandate regulatory administration of the anti-bleeding drug furosemide, also called Salix or Lasix; and lower the permitted amount of phenylbutazone, also known as Bute,that can be administered within 24 hours before a race.

In a letter to the Legislative Research Commission, Beshear said the proposed regulations were the result of more than a year of work by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) and were subject to public hearings. The regulations earlier were approved by the Kentucky Equine Drug Research Council, which makes recommendations to the KHRC