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Horses Racing In Texas Will Be Subject To Hair Testing Beginning Next Month
Beginning in October, Texas racehorses will be subject to hair testing.

Horses Racing In Texas Will Be Subject To Hair Testing Beginning Next Month

AUSTIN, TX—SEPTEMBER 18, 2021—The Texas Racing Commission has announced that effecting October 12, 2021, all racehorses will be subject to hair testing at random and/or for cause.

The Texas Racing Act, TEX. OCC. CODE § 2034.001(c) states: “The commission’s rules must require state-of-the-art testing methods. The testing may: (1) be prerace or postrace as determined by the commission; and (2) be by an invasive or noninvasive method.”

The Texas Rules of Racing, 16 TEX. ADMIN. CODE CHS. 301 and 319, provide as follows: §301.1(74) states: “Specimen--a bodily substance, such as blood, urine, or saliva, taken for analysis from a horse, greyhound, or individual in a manner prescribed by the Commission.”

§ 319.301 states: “(a) The stewards and racing judges may require a specimen of urine, blood, saliva, or other bodily substance to be taken from a race animal for the purpose of testing for the presence of a prohibited drug, chemical, or other substance. (b) Testing under this subchapter may be required at any time in accordance with these rules and may be conducted in an area approved by the commission veterinarian under the supervision of the commission veterinarian. (c) A person is not entitled to a purse until drug testing has been completed and the executive secretary has cleared the race for payment.”

§ 319.303 states: “(a) Except as otherwise provided by this section, a person may not tamper with or adulterate or attempt to tamper with or adulterate a specimen taken for testing under this chapter. (b) This section does not apply to a person who adds a substance approved by the executive secretary necessary to preserve the specimen for analysis.”

§ 319.361 states: “(a) The stewards shall order specimens collected for testing under this subchapter in accordance with this section. (b) A specimen shall be collected from each horse that finishes first in a race. (c) In addition to the horse designated under subsection (b) of this section, a specimen may be collected from the following horses: (1) a horse that finishes second; (2) a beaten favorite; (3) for a race with a gross purse of $50,000 or more, the horse that finishes third; (4) a horse selected at random by the stewards; and (5) any other horse designated for cause by the stewards or the commission veterinarian.”