The New Mexico Racing Commission met on Wednesday, July 15^th in Ruidoso. The Commission voted to table the approval of race dates until the August 19th meeting in Santa Fe (executive session will be held at 8:30 am, followed by the public session at 9:30 am). More details on this meeting will be distributed as soon as they are available. 

On Tuesday, July 14^th,the Medication Committee met in Ruidoso. The following changes were proposed to the rules: The legal limit for Clenbuterol, effective September 15^th,shall be 5ng in urine and ½ ng in blood. Conducting necropsies on horses that expired at the track or in the barn area was also discussed, along with a method to pay for these expenses.  

On Tuesday July 14^th,the Rules Committee met. It was proposed that the $300 per race appeal be increased to $500 and the fee be made non refundable. It was also proposed that the fee to appeal a rules infraction be increased to $500. This fee, however,may be refunded at the discretion of the NMRC. The NMHA objected to the increased cost for due process.

In addition, a rule was proposed that would require tangible evidence that a horse was lame before a jockey could take off the mount. The rule would further prohibit the jockey  from accepting another mount in the same race. What do Horsemen think about such a rule?

The issue of vesicularstomatitis in horses was discussed. Vesicular Stomatitis is a virus similar tothat of hoof and mouth disease. It can be transmitted by some insects, shared feed bins and water troughs, saliva, or fluid from lesions. The disease can be transmitted from horse to human.  It is important to immediately contact your vet if you perceive any VS symptoms(increased body temperature, excessive drooling/frothing at the mouth, blistersand lesions on the tongue or in the mouth area, refusal to eat). At present,the problem is isolated to 3 horses in New Mexico -not race horses.

A rule was proposed that would require the presence of a steward at the barn test for prospective new trainers. This will be discussed further along with Clenbuterol changes at the upcoming August 19^th NMRC meeting in Santa Fe.

We thank all the Horsemen who came to the NMRC meetings in Ruidoso. Please come to the Race Dates meeting in Santa Fe. The proposed cut in race dates at Ruidoso, the Downs at Albuquerque,and Zia Park will affect us all. We anticipate your support at these important meetings. Finally, the NMRC intends to further standardize the taking of soil sample at New Mexico tracks.

The jockeys have submitted anew proposal for Jockey Mount Fees. A separate posting on this issue will cover this as soon as more information is available.

The Downs at Albuquerque willbe available for move in on August 3^rd (the Arabian Horse Show will end on August 1^st). For more information, call Wayne Connolly at 505- 255-6666.

As always, please contact uswith any questions. We are here to support you.

Phone: 505 266 7056

Fax: 505 266-0643

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