Regulations Amending the Pari-Mutuel Betting Supervision Regulations: SOR/2020-33

Canada Gazette, Part II, Volume 154, Number 6

Registration

SOR/2020-33 February 27, 2020

CRIMINAL CODE

The Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, pursuant to subsection 204(9) footnote a of the Criminal Code footnote b, makes the annexed Regulations Amending the Pari-Mutuel Betting Supervision Regulations.

Ottawa, February 21, 2020

Marie-Claude Bibeau
Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food

Regulations Amending the Pari-Mutuel Betting Supervision Regulations

Amendment

1 Paragraph 1(d) of the schedule to the Pari-Mutuel Betting Supervision Regulations footnote 1 is amended by adding the following in alphabetical order:

Coming into Force

2 These Regulations come into force on the day on which they are registered.

REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT

(This statement is not part of the Regulations.)

Description

The Pari-Mutuel Betting Supervision Regulations (the Regulations) are designed to protect the integrity of pari-mutuel betting on horse races authorized under section 204 of the Criminal Code. Drugs and medications administered to race horses could affect the outcome of a pari-mutuel race. Drugs that are veterinary medications approved for sale in Canada may be administered to a horse but, with few exceptions (e.g. vitamins and some anti-parasitic and antimicrobial agents), must not be present in a horse’s system when it races.

This amendment adds the drugs altrenogest, grapiprant and lubabegron to the list of prohibited drugs in the schedule to the Regulations.

Alternatives

There are no appropriate alternatives to this regulatory amendment.

Benefits and costs

The impact of this amendment will be positive because the prohibition of potentially performance-altering drugs will continue to protect the bettors, the integrity of the racing industry and the credibility of the Canadian Pari-Mutuel Agency’s (CPMA) Equine Drug Control Program.

There are no significant financial or environmental impacts associated with this regulatory amendment.

Consultation

The CPMA consults with its drug advisory committee, consisting of veterinarians, pharmacologists and chemists, when proposing to add a drug to the schedule. The committee supports this regulatory action.

Altrenogest is an oral hormone that is used to keep female horses from coming into heat and to suppress unwanted behaviours associated with heat cycles. It is also used to modify behaviour in male horses. Use in females is a legitimate therapeutic use. Use in males is not, and this use is prohibited by many jurisdictions internationally. In alignment with other jurisdictions, and through a policy decision, the CPMA will only prohibit this drug’s use in male horses.

Grapiprant is a drug used to treat arthritis pain and inflammation in dogs. This drug is not recognized for use in horses and its pain-killing effects could be used to mask an injury in a race horse.

Lubabegron is a drug used in cattle to reduce ammonia gas emissions. Some people may use it in racehorses to try to increase lean muscle mass.

Due to the potential of these drugs to be used to influence the performance of a race horse, the CPMA, in consultation with its drug advisory committee, has determined that these drugs should be added to the list of prohibited drugs in the schedule to the Regulations.

Provincial racing commissions continue to endorse the CPMA’s Equine Drug Control Program, including the maintenance of the list of prohibited drugs.

Compliance and enforcement

Information on additions to the schedule is provided to all industry sectors so that they know which substances to avoid when treating horses scheduled to race.

Compliance with the CPMA’s Equine Drug Control Program is accomplished by the testing of post-race samples of urine or blood taken from race horses. Positive results are reported to the provincial racing commissions for appropriate action under their rules of racing.

This amendment will not increase the current requirements for compliance and enforcement activities.

Contact

Lydia Brooks
Manager
Research and Analysis
Canadian Pari-Mutuel Agency
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
P.O. Box 5904, LCD Merivale
Ottawa, Ontario
K2C 3X7
Telephone: 613‑949‑0745
Email: lydia.brooks@canada.ca