HB 5017C

1
A bill to be entitled
2An act relating to research funded by pari-mutuel
3wagering; amending s. 550.2415, F.S.; deleting provisions
4for certain moneys to be used for research relating to the
5medication of racing animals; deleting provisions relating
6to the Pharmacokinetic and Clearance Study Agreement by
7and between the Department of Business and Professional
8Regulation Division of Pari-mutuel Wagering and the
9University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine;
10repealing s. 1011.93, F.S., relating to research and
11development programs funded by moneys in the Pari-mutuel
12Wagering Trust Fund; providing an effective date.
13
14Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
15
16     Section 1.  Subsections (7) through (17) of section
17550.2415, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
18     550.2415  Racing of animals under certain conditions
19prohibited; penalties; exceptions.--
20     (7)  All moneys recovered for violations of this section
21shall be kept in a separate fund to be deposited into the Pari-
22mutuel Wagering Trust Fund and shall be used for research
23relating to the medication of racing animals. Such recovered
24moneys shall be supervised and used by the division to contract
25with a reputable college or school of veterinary medicine or its
26designee in accordance with this subsection.
27     (7)(8)  Under no circumstances may any medication be
28administered closer than 24 hours prior to the officially
29scheduled post time of a race except as provided for in this
30section.
31     (a)  The division shall adopt rules setting conditions for
32the use of furosemide to treat exercise-induced pulmonary
33hemorrhage.
34     (b)  The division shall adopt rules setting conditions for
35the use of prednisolone sodium succinate, but under no
36circumstances may furosemide or prednisolone sodium succinate be
37administered closer than 4 hours prior to the officially
38scheduled post time for the race.
39     (c)  The division shall adopt rules setting conditions for
40the use of phenylbutazone and synthetic corticosteroids; in no
41case, except as provided in paragraph (b), shall these
42substances be given closer than 24 hours prior to the officially
43scheduled post time of a race. Oral corticosteroids are
44prohibited except when prescribed by a licensed veterinarian and
45reported to the division on forms prescribed by the division.
46     (d)  Nothing in this section shall be interpreted to
47prohibit the use of vitamins, minerals, or naturally occurring
48substances so long as none exceeds the normal physiological
49concentration in a race-day race day specimen.
50     (e)  The division may, by rule, establish acceptable levels
51of permitted medications and shall select the appropriate
52biological specimens by which the administration of permitted
53medication is monitored.
54     (8)(9)(a)  Under no circumstances may any medication be
55administered within 24 hours before the officially scheduled
56post time of the race except as provided in this section.
57     (b)  As an exception to this section, if the division first
58determines that the use of furosemide, phenylbutazone, or
59prednisolone sodium succinate in horses is in the best interest
60of racing, the division may adopt rules allowing such use. Any
61rules allowing the use of furosemide, phenylbutazone, or
62prednisolone sodium succinate in racing must set the conditions
63for such use. Under no circumstances may a rule be adopted which
64allows the administration of furosemide or prednisolone sodium
65succinate within 4 hours before the officially scheduled post
66time for the race. Under no circumstances may a rule be adopted
67which allows the administration of phenylbutazone or any other
68synthetic corticosteroid within 24 hours before the officially
69scheduled post time for the race. Any administration of
70synthetic corticosteroids is limited to parenteral routes. Oral
71administration of synthetic corticosteroids is expressly
72prohibited. If this paragraph is unconstitutional, it is
73severable from the remainder of this section.
74     (c)  The division shall, by rule, establish acceptable
75levels of permitted medications and shall select the appropriate
76biological specimen by which the administration of permitted
77medications is monitored.
78     (9)(10)(a)  The division may conduct a postmortem
79examination of any animal that is injured at a permitted
80racetrack while in training or in competition and that
81subsequently expires or is destroyed. The division may conduct a
82postmortem examination of any animal that expires while housed
83at a permitted racetrack, association compound, or licensed
84kennel or farm. Trainers and owners shall be requested to comply
85with this paragraph as a condition of licensure.
86     (b)  The division may take possession of the animal upon
87death for postmortem examination. The division may submit blood,
88urine, other bodily fluid specimens, or other tissue specimens
89collected during a postmortem examination for testing by the
90division laboratory or its designee. Upon completion of the
91postmortem examination, the carcass must be returned to the
92owner or disposed of at the owner's option.
93     (10)(11)  The presence of a prohibited substance in an
94animal, found by the division laboratory in a bodily fluid
95specimen collected during the postmortem examination of the
96animal, which breaks down during a race constitutes a violation
97of this section.
98     (11)(12)  The cost of postmortem examinations, testing, and
99disposal must be borne by the division.
100     (12)(13)  The division shall adopt rules to implement this
101section. The rules may include a classification system for
102prohibited substances and a corresponding penalty schedule for
103violations.
104     (13)(14)  Except as specifically modified by statute or by
105rules of the division, the Uniform Classification Guidelines for
106Foreign Substances, revised February 14, 1995, as promulgated by
107the Association of Racing Commissioners International, Inc., is
108hereby adopted by reference as the uniform classification system
109for class IV and V medications.
110     (14)(15)  The division shall utilize only the thin layer
111chromatography (TLC) screening process to test for the presence
112of class IV and V medications in samples taken from racehorses
113except when thresholds of a class IV or class V medication have
114been established and are enforced by rule. Once a sample has
115been identified as suspicious for a class IV or class V
116medication by the TLC screening process, the sample will be sent
117for confirmation by and through additional testing methods. All
118other medications not classified by rule as a class IV or class
119V agent shall be subject to all forms of testing available to
120the division.
121     (16)  The division shall implement by rule medication
122levels finalized by the University of Florida developed pursuant
123to the Pharmacokinetic and Clearance Study Agreement by and
124between the Florida Department of Business and Professional
125Regulation Division of Pari-mutuel Wagering and the University
126of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine. Research on a drug
127level is finalized when the University of Florida College of
128Veterinary Medicine provides written notification to the
129division that it has completed its research on a particular drug
130pursuant to the agreement and when the College of Veterinary
131Medicine provides a final report of its findings, conclusions,
132and recommendations to the division.
133     (15)(17)  The testing medium for phenylbutazone in horses
134shall be serum, and the division may collect up to six full 15-
135milliliter blood tubes for each horse being sampled.
136     Section 2.  Section 1011.93, Florida Statutes, is repealed.
137     Section 3.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.


CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.