Sec.12-574-A33. Drugs and medication

(a) Action taken by stewards—prohibited medication and drugs.

(1) If the stewards shall find that any drug has been administered or attempted to be administered, internally or externally, to a horse before a race, which is of such a character as could affect the racing condition of the horse in such race, such stewards shall impose such punishment and take such other action as they may deem proper, including reference to the commission, against every person found by them to have administered or to have attempted to administer or to have caused to be administered or to have caused an attempt to administer or to have conspired with another person to administer such drug.

(2) A positive identification of any medication, other than those specifically accepted by the commission veterinarian, shall constitute prima facie evidence that the horse raced with prohibited medication in its system.

(3) The stewards shall notify the commission of all positive pre and post race test results.

(b) Identification before action taken. Excepting the scratching of a horse upon the receipt of a positive report of a pre-race test, no action shall be taken on any report of the commission laboratory unless and until the drug has been properly identified.

(c) Positive pre-race test result. Whenever there is a positive result of a pre-race test, the commission veterinarian shall immediate notify the presiding steward. The presiding steward shall thereupon scratch the horse from the race.

(d) Purses pending analysis. No price money for any race shall be awarded until after the result of analysis of saliva, urine or other sample to lie taken from the horse designated to give such samples, has been determined. In the event that the sample taken from said horse is returned as "positive," no part of the purse shall be paid to the owner of said horse, or any entry of said horse as a part, until the stewards have made a report of their investigation to the commission and the commission has determined the matter at a meeting. The commission may deny the purse to said owner of such horse as in the case of disqualification, or it may distribute the purse as it deems just and equitable. If a horse shall be disqualified in a race because of the infraction of this section, the eligibility of other horses which ran in such race and which have starting in a subsequent race before announcement of such disqualification shall not in any way be affected.

(e) Report use of drugs. Whenever or any medication of a prohibitive nature is administered orally, hypodermically, or externally to a horse by a veterinarian or other person, a written report of such administration signed by the veterinarian and the trainer shall be filed within twenty-four (24) hours on forms provided by the commission with the commission veterinarian.

(1) No medication or transfusion of blood or blood derivatives shall be administered to a horse during the period of forty-eight (48) hours before his start in a race.

(f) Report use of narcotics. The commission shall promptly report to the bureau of narcotics of the department of the treasury of the United States all cases in which it is reported by the commission laboratory that narcotics have been detected in a specimen from any horse; and if any veterinarian or physician has been involved therein, the commission shall make a similar report to the state health department of the state of Connecticut.

(g) Track record void. In the event that a horse established a track record in a race, and if it later develops by chemical analysis or investigation that any drug specified in rule (a) (1) of this section or any appliance specified in rule (a) (5) of section 12-574-A55 was used or employed, then such track record shall be null and void.

(h) Responsibility of association. Every association and all officials and employees thereof shall give every possible aid and assistance to any department, bureau, division, officer, agent or inspector, or any other person connected with the United States government or with the state of Connecticut, who may be investigating or prosecuting any such person they may suspect of being guilty of possession of any drug, stimulant, medicine, hypodermic syringes or hypodermic needles, batteries used to stimulate horses or other similar appliances.

(i) Responsibility for horse's condition. Trainers and assistant trainers are responsible for the condition of horses in their care and are presumed to know this section.

(j) Proper protection to be provided for horse. The trainer, groom, and any other person having charge, custody or care of the horse, are obligated to properly protect the horse from the administration of illegal drugs and guard it against such administration or attempted administration and, if the stewards shall find that any such person has failed to show proper protection and guarding of the horse, they shall impose such punishment and take such other action as they may deem proper under any of the rules, including reference to the commission.

(k) Bottles, containers to be labeled. All bottles and other containers kept in or about any tack room or elsewhere in any barn on the grounds of a racing association shall bear a label stating plainly the contents thereof, including the name of each active ingredient provided, however, that this rule shall not apply if the containers bear regular prescription labels with pharmacists' numbers, names and addresses and the names of the prescribing veterinarians.

(l) Right to search for, seize drugs, injection devices. No person within the grounds of an association shall have in or upon the premises which he occupies or controls or has the right to occupy or control or in his personal property or effects, any hypodermic syringe, hypodermic needle or other device which could be used for the injection or other infusion into a horse of a drug without first securing written permission from the stewards. Every association is required to use all reasonable efforts to prevent the violation of this rule. Every association, the commission and the stewards, or any of them, shall have the right to permit a person or persons authorized by any of them to enter into or upon the buildings, stables, rooms or other places within the grounds of such an association and to examine the same and to inspect and examine the personal property and effects of any person within such places, and every person who has been granted a license by the commission, by accepting his license, does consent to such search and to the seizure of any hypodermic syringes, hypodermic needles or other devices and any drugs apparently intended to be or which could be used in connection therewith so found. If the stewards shall find that any person has violated this rule, they shall impose such punishment and take such other action as they may deem proper under this section, including reference to the commission. The written permission of the stewards for the possession of a hypodermic syringe, hypodermic needle or other device as herein described shall be limited in duration as the stewards may determine, but in no case shall its duration extend beyond the racing season in which it is granted; and no such or similar permission granted by stewards of a meeting in any other state or country shall have any validity in the state of Connecticut.