AMERICAN QUARTER HORSE ASSOCIATION—MAY 10, 2017—The American Quarter Horse Association is committed to protecting the welfare of the American Quarter Horse. As part of this pursuit, AQHA is regularly teaming up with racetracks and racing commissions to deploy Racing Integrity Teams to racing events.

These teams are deployed to ensure integrity at racetracks. The team’s work might include assisting local racing commission and track staff; performing searches of barns, stalls or cars; sharing knowledge and intelligence with local enforcement teams; and other general security and deterrence actions.

Over a recent weekend, a team was deployed to Sam Houston Race Park to provide additional security. The team invested approximately 400 regulatory hours to ensure a high level of safety, integrity and fairness of the races. Included within the regulatory activities were the surveillance of all futurity horses for a period of time prior to post time. The special-event team included investigators from five racing jurisdictions, along with investigators from the Texas Animal Health Commission. As a result of combined efforts, the races were conducted without incident.

Representatives received overwhelming support from horsemen throughout the event.

The RITs are made up of members of the Organization of Racing Investigators, and the teams often have hundreds of years of combined experience between them.

"Our efforts are to partner with both the commissions and the tracks to help enforce all rules of racing," said AQHA Chief Racing Officer Janet VanBebber.

"This can include monitoring proper licensing, checking for the presence of prohibited substances, searches for illegal equipment, and even keeping an eye out for possible human drug use. Assisting each jurisdiction in implementing its own Integrity Team will help serve as a valuable deterrent for improper and illegal activity at racetracks."

The RITs are just one step in AQHA’s commitment to protecting the welfare of the American Quarter Horse and protecting the interest of the public.

For more information on American Quarter Horse racing, visit www.aqha.com/racing.

AQHA News and information is a service of the American Quarter Horse Association. For more news and information, follow @AQHARacing on Twitter, watch the AQHA Racing Newscast and visit www.aqharacing.com.