Aligned with ongoing efforts to enhance equine welfare and support industry sustainability, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) has updated the Thoroughbred Rules of Racing (and Quarter Horse Appendix), to strengthen racehorse health and safety.
Effective Date: June 23, 2025 (Thoroughbred), July 14, 2025 (Quarter Horse: There will be a transition period until July 14, 2025, for the Quarter Horse industry to understand these new requirements and come into compliance.)
These enhanced rules are a result of extensive industry consultation and represent an important step towards the protection of equine health and the integrity of the sport. Those include:
- Greater veterinary oversight
- Closer monitoring of horses coming off the Veterinarians’ List
- Racing frequency restrictions for horses, and
- New regulations for the use of certain therapeutic treatments.
These changes will help ensure that only healthy horses are permitted to race, and that horses recovering from injury are provided the time and care they need to recover before returning to work.
Summary of Changes
Racetrack Operators
- Increased veterinary oversight – Racetracks will be required to create a plan for an Official Veterinarian to be present to observe during each race day and during peak training activities. This change strengthens horse welfare and safety by ensuring Official Veterinarian oversight during critical periods during race days and training activities.
Trainers/Owners
- Expanded medical history requirement – Horse medical records must now include drug names and dosage information for added transparency for new owners. Owners and Trainers may now request horse medical records of intra-articular injections when a horse transfers ownership. These changes strengthen medical record transparency, allowing new owners to request expanded medical information from previous owners.
Trainers/Owners + Veterinarians
- Expansion and clarity of current process for removal from the Veterinarians’ List – Horses working to come off the Veterinarians’ List are required to be examined by the Official Veterinarian prior to an official workout. A trainer must schedule an appointment with an Official Veterinarian for removal at least 24 hours in advance of the official workout. Before the appointment, the trainer and private veterinarian must declare the horse is fit to work and co-sign a Veterinarian Statement of Fitness and submit a Regulatory Submission in iAGCO. If the Commission or Official Veterinarian identifies a horse as lame when it is presented to work off the Veterinarians’ List, it may be placed on the Veterinarians’ List for an additional 28 days and may require further diagnostics.
- Faster communication – After examining a horse, veterinarians must inform trainers/owners, as soon as reasonably possible, whether a horse must remain on the Veterinarians’ List or when it can be removed from the List and resume racing.
- Mandatory reporting – Private veterinarians must report all intra-articular injections of the fetlock joint using the Veterinarian Medical Record Regulatory Submission in iAGCO.
- Temporary workout restriction – Horses scratched or placed on the Veterinarians’ List by a veterinarian must wait two days before participating in an official workout.
These changes improve clarity and streamline the process for managing horses on the Veterinarians’ List, ensuring the welfare of horses remains a priority. Additionally, the changes enhance transparency of medical records and horse status, as well as providing the AGCO with accurate documentation of any horse that has received an intra-articular injection of the fetlock joint.
All Licensees
- Expanded examination authority – A Commission or Official Veterinarian can now examine any horse at the racetrack and inform the trainer/owner of findings as soon as reasonably possible.
- Mandatory rest period after fetlock injections – Horses receiving intra-articular fetlock injections must remain on the Veterinarians’ List for 14 days before competing (TB 27.03); and cannot perform an official work to come off the Veterinarians’ List for 14 days following the injection. Note: To minimize disruption to racing, Thoroughbred horses that have received an intra-articular fetlock injection prior to June 23, 2025, will be permitted to race at Fort Erie Race Track. Any horse that receives this treatment on June 23, 2025, or later, will be placed on the Veterinarians’ List and not be permitted to race until a period of 14 days has passed.
- Mandatory rest period for horses (Thoroughbred) – Two-year-old horses cannot race more than twice within 28 calendar days, and three-year-old and older horses cannot race more than twice within 21 calendar days.
- Clarified race entry regulations – A horse may be entered in a race as long as it is eligible to come off the Veterinarians’ List by post time.
These rule changes increase veterinary oversight and strengthen equine health protections, with a particular focus on younger horses and horses that received fetlock joint injections. Scientific evidence supports a restriction on high-speed furlongs to allow rest periods between races. Additionally, the changes allow flexibility for race entry while still prioritizing horse welfare.
The AGCO remains committed to safeguarding Ontario’s racehorses. These welfare enhancements represent an essential step toward long-term industry success and sustaining public confidence in the sport. Access the full list of rule changes HERE.
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