SECTIONS 19580-19583 - California Statutes

BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS CODE

SECTION 19580-19583

19580. (a) The board shall adopt regulations to establish policies,
guidelines, and penalties relating to equine medication in order to
preserve and enhance the integrity of horse racing in the state.
Those policies, guidelines, and penalties shall include, at a
minimum, the provisions set forth in this article.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that the board, in its
testing efforts to determine illegal or excessive use of substances,
recognize the greater importance of conducting complete and thorough
testing of a lesser number of samples in preference to conducting
less thorough testing on a greater number of samples.

19581. No substance of any kind shall be administered by any means
to a horse after it has been entered to race in a horse race, unless
the board has, by regulation, specifically authorized the use of the
substance and the quantity and composition thereof. The board may
require that the official veterinarian approve, in writing, the
administration of those substances in accordance with the regulations
of the board. Any medication or equipment used to dispense
medication that is located within the inclosure is subject to search
and inspection at the request of any board official.

19582. (a) (1) Violations of Section 19581, as determined by the
board, are punishable as set forth in regulations adopted by the
board.
(2) The board may classify violations of Section 19581 based upon
each class of prohibited drug substances, prior violations within the
previous three years, and prior violations within the violator's
lifetime.
(3) (A) The board may provide for the suspension of a license for
not more than three years, except as provided in subdivision (b), or
a monetary penalty of not more than one hundred thousand dollars
($100,000), or both, and disqualification from purses, for a
violation of Section 19581.
(B) The actual amount of the monetary penalty imposed pursuant to
this paragraph shall be determined only after due consideration has
been given to all the facts, circumstances, acts, and intent of the
licensee, and shall not be solely based on the trainer-insurer rule,
as established in Sections 1843 and 1887 of Title 4 of the California
Code of Regulations.
(4) The punishment for second and subsequent violations of Section
19581 shall be greater than the punishment for a first violation of
Section 19581 with respect to each class of prohibited drug
substances, unless the administrative law judge, in findings of fact
and conclusions of law filed with the board, concludes that a
deviation from this general rule is justified.
(b) (1) A third violation of Section 19581 during the lifetime of
the licensee, determined by the board to be at a class I or class II
level, may result in the permanent revocation of the person's
license.
(2) The administrative law judge shall, after consideration of the
circumstances surrounding a violation specified in paragraph (1),
file a decision with the board that includes findings of fact and
conclusions of law.
(c) Any person whose license is suspended or revoked pursuant to
this section shall not be entitled to receive any material benefit or
remuneration in any capacity or from any business activity permitted
or allowed by the license during any period of its suspension or
revocation.
(d) The penalties provided by this section are in addition to any
other civil, criminal, and administrative penalties or sanctions
provided by law, and do not supplant, but are cumulative to, other
penalties or sanctions.

19582.5. The board may adopt regulations that prohibit the entry in
a race of a horse that tests positive for a drug substance in
violation of Section 19581. Upon a finding of a prohibited drug
substance in an official test sample, a horse may be summarily
disqualified from the race in connection with which the drug sample
was taken. Upon the disqualification of a horse pursuant to these
regulations, any purse, prize, award, or record for that race shall
be forfeited. However, the board, including its hearing officers and
stewards, shall have the authority to order, in the interests of
justice, that a jockey be permitted to keep his or her share of the
purse, prize, or award for that race upon a finding that a person,
other than the jockey, willfully, and with flagrant disregard for
recommended veterinary practice and the regulations of the board,
administered the prohibited substance. Such an order may provide that
the jockey's share of the purse, prize, or award shall be paid by
the person or persons determined to be responsible for willfully
administering the prohibited substance.

19583. Every veterinarian who treats a horse within the inclosure
shall, in writing, on a form prescribed by the board, report to the
official veterinarian in a manner prescribed by him or her, the name
of the horse treated, the name of the trainer of the horse, the time
of treatment, any medication administered to the horse, and any other
information requested by the official veterinarian.