Edited Press ReleaseRacing regulators from across North America who are members of the Association of Racing Commissioners International (ARCI) met Thursday to consider a new aggressive approach being utilized in Oklahoma to safeguard horses utilizing “Emergency Protective Orders.” This temporarily excludes horses in the care of trainers whose horses have demonstrated an abnormal and materially elevated pattern of severe post-race distress, including repeated incidents in which horses were unable to safely leave the track under their own power.To date three trainers have received such orders, effectively excluding 171 horses by putting them on the Stewards' List temporarily. Affected horses are subject to testing, veterinary examination, record production, and individualized regulatory review before they may be considered for removal from that status. The orders provide for the nomination of a “guardian ad litem” to conduct an independent investigation concerning the welfare of the affected horses.ARCI President Ed Martin said that “using the Stewards' or Vets' list to exclude a horse from competition is not new, but Oklahoma's use of Emergency Protective Orders to temporarily exclude all horses managed by a particular trainer is.“This is an important new approach that all racing regulators should consider utilizing,” Martin told the regulators.In Oklahoma such orders are only issued after the Stewards reviewed evidence, reports, video recordings, veterinary opinions, and other information concerning horses that appeared in extreme distress after racing and have determined that there is an abnormal and materially elevated pattern. Each Order states that the pattern was repeated, documented, and sufficiently serious to require immediate regulatory intervention.The regulators were briefed by Amanda English, Interim Executive Director of the Oklahoma Racing Commission and the commission's General Counsel Michael Copeland.English told her colleagues that the stewards relied on veterinary opinions from three veterinarians who concluded that the condition shown by the horses was extreme, unusual, not a normal post-race recovery pattern, materially adverse to equine welfare, and inconsistent with the safe and humane participation of such horses in racing absent further investigation and clearance.“When horses show signs of extreme distress, we will not look away, we will not minimize it, and we will not wait for another incident before taking action. These emergency measures are designed to protect horses immediately, secure the evidence, and ensure that no horse connected to this matter returns to competition unless and until the Commission is satisfied that it is safe and humane for that horse to race,” she said.The Order requires mandatory pre-race and out-of-competition testing, mandatory veterinary examinations, immediate post-race examination of any horse showing abnormal recovery or distress, production of veterinary and treatment records, and inspection of relevant barns, stalls, tack rooms, treatment areas, and other enclosure locations. The Order also preserves the Commission's authority to pursue additional remedies if warranted.The post Emergency Protective Orders Issued for Horses in Oklahoma appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.