The National Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association (HBPA) said July 1 it plans to be more involved as the racing industry considers medication and drug-testing policies, which horsemen believe could be detrimental and counterproductive.

The issues, some of which have been vocalized in the past, were discussed during the National HBPA Medication Committee meeting as part of the organization’s summer convention in Shepherdstown, W.Va. The discussion focused on threshold levels for drug testing and what horsemen believe is a widespread problem of contamination of samples.

Steven Barker, PhD, a chemist for the Louisiana State Racing Commission, said the industry must address environmental contamination . Barker said he believes 80% of drug “positives” would be eliminated if the racing industry did away with “zero tolerance” in testing; he also noted the number of positives dropped by a similar percentage in Louisiana, which has a 24-hour rule for use of therapeutic drugs.

“If people were using (Class 1 and Class 2 drugs) to influence the outcome of races, we’d find them (through testing),” Barker said. “This industry does not have a drug problem