A pair of position papers released by the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium (RMTC) find no physiologic difference in the various racing breeds to justify changes to its established regulatory thresholds for use of clenbuterol and corticosteroids.

The papers are the conclusions of a panel formed at the request of the United States Trotting Association (USTA) which, at the September RMTC meeting, called for more liberal thresholds for the use of intra-articular corticosteroids and clenbuterol in Standardbreds. Following that meeting, the USTA ended its RMTC membership, citing difference in breeds. 

The RMTC said the recommendations in the two position papers were made by a panel of recognized laboratory directors, veterinary pharmacologists, practicing veterinarians, regulatory veterinarians, and veterinary surgeons with extensive experience in Thoroughbred, Standardbred, Quarter Horse, and Arabian racing.

The corticosteroid position paper (which can be viewed online) outlines the concerns regarding both short-term pain masking effects of corticosteroids as well as long-term damage caused by injudicious use of these medications. The panel affirmed the thresholds originally proposed by the RMTC