The New York Gaming Commission on Monday approved a proposed set of rules that would further restrict the use of painkillers in horse racing, along with a handful of other rules and proposals seeking to align the state’s regulations with other states in the region. The proposal dealing with painkillers would limit trainers to one clinical dose of a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug within one week of a race. The current rules allow for two to be administered in the week prior to a race, as long as one is administered at least 48 hours prior to a race and the other is administered at least 96 hours prior to a race. The rule would also limit the types of allowed painkillers to phenylbutazone, ketoprofen, and flunixin, down from the six currently allowed. The rules have already been recommended by national regulatory groups, and several states in the so-called “Mid-Atlantic consortium” have put the restrictions in place or are in the process of adopting the restrictions. The Mid-Atlantic consortium includes racing constituencies in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. The commission also approved a proposal to tighten restrictions on the use of clenbuterol, the bronchial dilator that can have steroid-like effects when used regularly. Under the new rules, clenbuterol would not be allowed to be administered unless a veterinarian receives approval from the commission’s equine medical director. In addition, any horse that receives a course of treatment with clenbuterol will be placed on the veterinarian’s list and prohibited from racing until tests have demonstrated that the drug has cleared the horse’s system. The proposed set of clenbuterol rules is also in the process of being adopted in the Mid-Atlantic states. :: Want to get your Past Performances for free? Click to learn more. The clenbuterol rules were proposed weeks after the commission’s equine medical director acknowledged that “a substantial number” of Thoroughbred and Standardbred horses in the barns of trainers indicted earlier this year on federal illegal medication charges had hair samples test positive for clenbuterol “without evidence of a medical prescription,” according to the commission’s executive director, Robert Williams. In other commission actions: * The commission unanimously adopted a rule that will require trainers to keep records of any “serious” bleeding episodes and maintain those records for four years. The commission said that it would create a “reporting system to collect such information from trainers.” In addition, any horse that experiences a “serious” bleeding episode will be required to have an endoscopic examination following the horse’s next race or workout. The language in the adopted rule said that a “serious” episode of bleeding would be one that is considered a grade four on a commonly used scale that runs from one to four. In addition, any visible bleeding from the nostril would be a serious episode. * Along the same lines, the commission adopted a rule that will allow trainers to run horses on- or off-Lasix without having to deal with bureaucratic and stand-down hurdles associated with the so-called “Lasix list.” Next year, horses running in graded stakes races in New York – and in many other racing jurisdictions – will not be allowed to be administered Lasix, and many horses next year may be running sequentially in races in which Lasix is allowed or not allowed. * The commission approved a rule that require trainers to keep records of medications given to horses that have been dispensed by a veterinarian. Currently, veterinarians are required to keep records of their administrations, but the new rule would extend that requirement to commonly dispensed medications that are not administered by injection. * The commission recommended a proposed set of rules that would codify new fitness standards for licensed riders, including “vision, hearing, and range of motion requirement.” The proposal would also require riders to complete a baseline concussion assessment. * At the end of the meeting, Peter Moschetti, a commission member who chaired Monday’s meeting, said that the commission has asked staff to “draft options” for rules that would restrict the use of the whip during a race. At last month’s meeting, the commission conducted a two-hour hearing to collect testimony from racing constituents on the possibility of adopting restrictions, at a time when many major racing jurisdictions have done the same. “We’ve had a great deal of discussion about this,” Moschetti said.