RMTC Responds to Motion

The Racetrack Medication & Testing Consortium (RMTC) issued a response Thursday to trainer Graham Motion's statements following a ruling against him by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission. A sample taken from the Motion-trained Kitten's Point (Kitten's Joy) following her victory in last April's GIII Bewitch S. at Keeneland revealed a presence of 2.9 nanograms per milliliter of plasma of the muscle relaxant methocarbamol (Robaxin)–above the 1 ng/ml threshold in Kentucky. Motion was suspended five days by the KHRC and fined $500, and Kitten's Point was disqualified from purse money.

Motion, who has appealed the decision, claims that Kitten's Point received her final dose of Robaxin a full week out from the Bewitch–the recommended withdrawal time for the medication is 48 hours–and called into question the merit of recommended withdrawal times.

“The methocarbamol threshold is recommended by the RMTC and included in the Controlled Therapeutic Medication list that is part of the National Uniform Medication Program,” said Dr. Dionne Benson, Executive Director of the RMTC. “The recommendation is based upon research that is published in Rumpler, M., et al., The pharmacokinetics of methocarbamol and guaifenesin after single intravenous and multiple-dose oral administration of methocarbamol in the horse, J. Vet. Pharmacol. Therap., 37(1): 25-34 (Feb. 2014). The threshold is based upon a single 15 mg/kg intravenous dose, but a subset of the horses was also subject to an additional oral dose regimen of 5 grams of methocarbamol every 12 hours for five doses. At 48 hours, all oral dose horses were below 1 ng/ml of plasma with the highest concentration being at 0.5 ng/ml of plasma.”

Benson's statement continued, “These treatment protocols were set based upon a survey of AAEP practitioners, as is our standard practice. Practitioners indicated a range of doses and a range of treatment protocols–including, in some cases, a single 48-hour pre-race administration of methocarbamol intravenously. Many protocols and treatment plans are possible for horses. The RMTC publishes specific dose and route of administration protocols to provide the practitioner and trainer information on how to meet the regulatory threshold using the listed withdrawal guidelines.

“If a trainer or veterinarian elects to administer a higher dose, use a different route of administration, or a longer duration of treatment than described in the recommendation, the withdrawal guideline will not apply to their situation. It is imperative that when a trainer elects to deviate from the threshold protocol that they do so in consultation with their veterinarians or–as permitted in Kentucky and other states–submit a sample for analysis prior to entry to help ensure the medication concentration is below the regulatory threshold. Depending on drug, especially oral preparations, there is always the possibility a horse was mistakenly treated or not all drug treatments were recorded.”