W. Va. Code R. § 178-1-51

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 50, December 13, 2024

Section 178-1-51 - Trainer Responsibility

51.1. The following provisions apply to the responsibilities of the trainer as they specifically relate to the health and well being of horses in his or her care, custody or control:

51.1.a. The trainer is the absolute insurer of and responsible for the condition of the horses he or she enters in an official workout or a race, regardless of the acts of third parties. If testing or analysis of urine, blood or other bodily substances or tissues prove positive showing the presence of any prohibited drug, medication or substance, the trainer of the horse may be fined, suspended, have his or her occupational permit revoked, be prohibited access to all grounds under the jurisdiction of the Racing Commission, or may be otherwise disciplined. In addition, the owner of the horse, the foreman in charge of the horse, the groom and any other person shown to have had the care, or attendance of the horse may be fined, suspended, have his or her occupational permit revoked, be prohibited access to all grounds under the jurisdiction of the Racing Commission, or may be otherwise disciplined.

51.1.b. The trainer is responsible for:

51.1.b.1. maintaining the assigned stable area in a clean, neat, and sanitary condition at all times;

51.1.b.2. keeping all hay, grain, and other feed covered and in a sanitary manner;

51.1.b.3. ensuring that fire prevention rules are strictly observed in the assigned stable area;

51.1.b.4. the proper identity, custody, care, health, condition, and safety of horses in his or her charge;

51.1.b.5. ensuring that at the time of arrival at locations under the jurisdiction of the Commission a valid health certificate and a valid negative Equine Infectious Anemia (EIA) test certificate accompany each horse and which, where applicable, shall be filed with the association's racing secretary;

51.1.b.6. having each horse in his or her care that is racing, or is stabled on association grounds, tested for Equine Infectious Anemia (EIA) in accordance with state law and for filing evidence of the negative test results with the association's racing secretary;

51.1.b.7. using the services of those veterinarians holding an occupational permit issued by the Racing Commission to attend horses that are on association grounds;

51.1.b.8. immediately reporting the alteration of the sex of a horse to the horse identifier and the association's racing secretary no later than at the time of entry so that the information may recorded on the foal certificate;

51.1.b.9. promptly reporting to the association's racing secretary and a Racing Commission veterinarian when a posterior digital neurectomy (heel nerving) is performed and ensuring that such fact is designated on its certificate of registration;

51.1.b.10. promptly notifying a Racing Commission veterinarian of any reportable disease and any unusual incidence of a communicable illness in any horse in his or her charge;

51.1.b.11. promptly reporting the serious injury and/or death of any horse at locations under the jurisdiction of the Racing Commission to the stewards and a Racing Commission veterinarian and compliance with subsection 52.2. of this rule governing racing soundness examinations;

51.1.b.12. maintaining a knowledge of the medication record and status of all horses in his or her care;

51.1.b.13. immediately reporting to the stewards and a Racing Commission veterinarian if he or she knows, or has cause to believe, that a horse in his or her custody, care, or control has received any prohibited drugs or medication;

51.1.b.14. ensuring the fitness of a horse to perform creditably at the distance entered;

51.1.b.15. ensuring that every horse he/she has entered to race is present at its assigned stall for a pre-race soundness inspection;

51.1.b.16. ensuring that his or her horses are properly shod, bandaged, and equipped;

51.1.b.17. attending the collection of a specimen of urine, blood or other bodily substances or tissue or delegating such responsibility to an employee holding an occupational permit or to the owner; and

51.1.b.18. maintaining accurate records, or expressly delegating the maintenance of accurate records to a practicing veterinarian, of all corticosteroid joint injections to horses trained by him or her, and making such records available to a Racing Commission veterinarian upon request.

W. Va. Code R. § 178-1-51