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East Rutherford, NJ – With the announcement that the Standardbred Racing Integrity and Accountability Initiative (SRIAI) will not be implemented for 2018, The Meadowlands will address the immediate concern regarding Performance Enhancing Drugs (PED's) in their harness racing stakes by increasing both Out Of Competition (OOC) and post race testing this year.
The New Jersey Racing Commission (NJRC) has agreed to recognize the samples being sent to Hong Kong for testing, meaning that the results will now be subject to NJRC fines and suspensions being enforced. Hong Kong has agreed to cooperate in hearings that are necessary before any penalties can be issued by NJRC.
To help defray the cost incurred by the proposed increase in testing, 1% of the total money available from all revenue sources in Meadowlands stakes with a purse of over $100,000 will be used toward that expense.
"Based on the comments that Clay Horner and I received in discussing the SRIAI original plan, it is obvious the vast majority of owners of stakes horses support initiatives that level the playing field for all participants," said Meadowlands President Jeff Gural.
"The fact is those costs add up and 1% seems to me like a small price to pay for increased scrutiny."
Nick Salvi
