The National Thoroughbred Racing Association has been told of concerns by the veterinary community in regard to its Task Force on Drug Testing and Racing Integrity, and the fact that a veterinarian is not on the task force. But the issues reportedly were not discussed during an NTRA board of directors meeting Dec. 10 in Tucson, Ariz.

About 25 or 30 Kentucky-based veterinarians signed a letter that was sent to NTRA commissioner Tim Smith just after the Kentucky Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association sent Smith a letter that said the organization does not want the task force to address uniform medication rules.

Like the HBPA letter, the letter from the veterinarians was born out of concern that Kentucky’s medication policies, considered very liberal, would be a target of the national task force. The letter didn’t draw a formal response, according to Dr. Alex Harthill, but he said the vets were told by word of mouth that there wasn’t a problem.

“It was old hat,” Harthill said. “We just said that we felt our program–our medication policy in Kentucky–was the best that there is. I haven’t talked to anybody, including all the people who came here from Europe to run in the Breeders’ Cup, that didn’t say the same thing