Illinois Owner, Racing Board Member Kathy Byrne Joins WHOA - Horse Racing News | Paulick Report--Not that states haven’t tried, but it’s a frustrating game of whack-a-mole. We have failed. In Illinois, we tried to adopt the medication policies advocated by ARCI; in fact, we have been trying for three years. We can’t move fast enough. Any time a standard changes or a new drug is listed we must start the rulemaking process all over again. Rightfully and fairly, we must provide notice and grace periods whenever thresholds change. We give horseman and vets contradictory advisories, adding to the confusion. There’s not enough money to properly test any substantial number of non-winning horses, which creates a huge incentive to cheat, because odds are you’ll never get caught. Our lab promised, under oath, more than a year ago, it would become RMTC certified, but it’s “still looking into it” – and it’s the State lab so there’s no political will to change. I’m tired of hearing the excuse that we’ll lose horses to other states if we act boldly. I’m fed up with fear mongering and disinformation about ‘federal meddling’.

Illinois Owner, Racing Board Member Kathy Byrne Joins WHOA - Horse Racing News | Paulick Report