Section 71IAC3.5-14-1. General authority

   (a) At the discretion of the commission, the racing veterinarian may be an employee of the commission or the association. At the discretion of the commission, the duties of the racing veterinarian may be assumed by the official veterinarian, except that any certified veterinary technician assigned to act as official veterinarian pursuant to 71 IAC 3.5-13-1(c) shall not be permitted or required to perform procedures that are outside the scope of their certification by the Indiana board of veterinary medical examiners. The association may employ an additional racing veterinarian in order to further ensure the safety of racing.

  (b) The racing veterinarian shall:

(1) be directly responsible to the official veterinarian;

(2) be a graduate veterinarian and be licensed to practice in Indiana;

(3) be present in the paddock on the race track during the post parade and at the starting gate until the horses are dispatched from the gate for the race;

(4) inspect any horse when there is a question as to the physical condition of such horse;

(5) recommend scratching a horse to the stewards if, in the opinion of the racing veterinarian, the horse is physically incapable of exerting its best effort to win;

(6) inspect any horse which appears in physical distress during the race or at the finish of the race and report such horse together with his or her opinion as to the cause of the distress to the stewards and the official veterinarian;

(7) be available to the racing secretary or the stewards prior to scratch time each racing day, at a time designated by the stewards, to inspect any horses and report on their condition as may be requested by the stewards;

(8) refrain from directly treating or prescribing for any horse scheduled to participate during his or her term of appointment at any recognized meeting except in cases of emergency, accident, or injury;

(9) be authorized to humanely destroy any horse deemed to be so seriously injured that it is in the best interest of racing to so act;

(10) with the approval of the official veterinarian, place horses on the bleeder list; and

(11) any other duties assigned by the official veterinarian.

(Indiana Horse Racing Commission; 71 IAC 3.5-14-1; emergency rule filed Jun 15, 1995, 5:00 p.m.: 18 IR 2837, eff Jul 1, 1995; readopted filed Oct 30, 2001, 11:50 a.m.: 25 IR 899; readopted filed Mar 23, 2007, 11:31 a.m.: 20070404-IR-071070030RFA; emergency rule filed Aug 21, 2007, 1:33 p.m.: 20070829-IR-071070543ERA; readopted filed Nov 26, 2013, 11:25 a.m.: 20131225-IR-071130345RFA)