§ 163.303. Prohibition; prima facie evidence; disqualification.
(a) A horse participating in a race may not carry in its body a substance except as provided in § 163.304 (relating to substances of therapeutic value).
(b) A finding by the chemist that a foreign substance is present in the test sample shall be prima facie evidence that the foreign substance was administered and carried in the body of the horse while participating in a race. This finding shall also be taken as prima facie evidence that the trainer and his agents responsible for the care or custody of the horse has been negligent in the handling or care of the horse.
(c) A finding by the chemist of a foreign substance or an approved substance used in violation of this section and § § 163.301, 163.302 and 163.304—163.308 in a test sample of a horse participating in a race may result in the horse being disqualified from purse money or other awards except for purposes of parimutuel wagering, which shall be in no way affected.
Source The provisions of this § 163.303 amended through April 24, 1981, effective April 25, 1981, 11 Pa.B. 1391. Immediately preceding text appears at serial page (56247).
Notes of Decisions The finding of a foreign substance in a test sample from a horse is prima facie evidence that the trainer and his agents responsible for the care or custody of the horse may have been negligent in the handling or care of the horse. Worthington v. Horse Racing Commission, 514 A.2d 311 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1986).
Since horse was left unattended for two to three daylight hours daily, the fact that horse trainer hired night watchman was insufficient to rebut presumption of negligence created under 58 Pa. Code § 163.303(b) when a prohibited foreign substance was found in a test sample. Brown v. Horse Racing Commission, 499 A.2d 1132 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1985).
The discovery of lidocaine in a horse’s urine following a race was sufficient to support the imposition of liability upon a trainer under this section and 58 Pa. Code § 163.302. Sipp v. Horse Racing Commission, 466 A.2d 296 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1983).
Subsection (c), as it read on March 13, 1981, the date of the race, required a horse which had an impermissible level, as set out in 58 Pa. Code § 163.304(2), of the drug phenylbutazone in its system ‘‘shall’’ be disqualified from purse money, and the Commission’s reversal of such a disqualification was clear error even though the section later was changed to ‘‘may’’ be disqualified from purse money. Bush v. Horse Racing Commission, 466 A.2d 254 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1983).
Cross References This section cited in 58 Pa. Code § 163.302 (relating to foreign drugs, medications or substances); and 58 Pa. Code § 163.308 (relating to official laboratory).
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