January 30, 2013 at 5:54 p.m.
Drug suspensions reduced for first timers
Drug suspensions reduced for first timers
DHPC president Nick De Costa confirmed that the club membership had collectively decided to reduce the suspension for first-time offenders to five race-days and a $250 fine.
Previously the penalty was a $1,000 fine and a year ban.
But he said there had been no change to the status of Bute - the pain killing drug that caused one pony to be banned earlier this year.
Three ponies and their owners were hit with 12-month bans after failing drug tests late last year. One tested positive for Bute and two for caffeine.
Nick De Costa said the positive tests - the first since random testing was introduced - had caused many in the club to question the fairness of the blanket policy of banning all offenders for 12 months and fining them $1,000.
He said the changes had not been imposed by the committee but had been agreed on by the club membership.
He dismissed suggestions that the changes had been made for the benefit of committee member Colin Mello, whose horse tested positive for Bute late last year, as 'nonsense' saying it was a decision taken by the entire club.
Still back testing
De Costa said the club still endorsed random drug testing but felt the new structure of penalties, which includes a ten-race ban and $500 fine for a second offence, was more in line with other jurisdictions.
"I said right from the beginning that this was something we would have to look at. A lot of people felt the suspensions were too harsh and that the penalties for the same offences, in other parts of the world, where a lot less.
"We decided to open it back up in order for the members to have the chance to change the penalty system, which they did.
"The way it has been made out is that the committee decided to change the rules to suit themselves. Everything has been decided and voted on by the members."
In the US a first-time ban for caffeine carries a 30-day suspension and a 250 dollar fine. Bute often carries no ban at all.
De Costa said the system for professional racing in the States, where races are contested as often as four times a week, was much more complex with a sliding scale of bans and penalties depending on the drug and level of the offence.
In Bermuda all drugs are still treated as the same.
De Costa added that the testing was at the discretion of the vets.
"Nobody knows how many times, who or when there is going to be a test."
[[In-content Ad]]* First time offences for any positive drug test now carry a $250 fine and five-race ban
* Second offences now carry a $500 fine and ten race ban.
* Lasix (a diuretic) is now legal for medical purposes with a vet's certificate.
* The status of Bute remains the same - Banned for two-year-olds, legal for older horses for medical purposes, with a vet's certificate.
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