Harrisburg, PA — The Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission at its Feb. 28 meeting voted to move forward with a revision of a Standardbred regulation for horses that go off the race-day therapeutic medication Lasix.

The PHRC last summer took comments from trainer Neal Ehrhart, who noted that horses have to qualify and be scoped after a trainer declares they will race without Lasix, while in other states trainers need only sign an “off-Lasix” form. The commission indicated it would look into the matter.

The official language for the revised regulation is in process and will be published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin. It will eliminate the requirement that a horse going off Lasix have a qualifying race before a pari-mutuel race. The Pennsylvania Harness Horsemen’s Association and Meadows Standardbred Owners Association support the change, officials said.

In other business, the first two months of 2023 have been productive in terms of pari-mutuel wagering growth at two harness tracks, according to comments made during the meeting.

Scott Lishia, director of racing at Hollywood Casino at The Meadows, indicated increases in January carried over to February as total handle was up 70 percent and per-race handle rose 35 percent with 35 more races year over year. Mike Zullinger, director of race and sports book operations at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania, said the first four programs of the 2023 meet produced a 15 percent hike in handle year over year.

The PHRC announced that it will schedule a special meeting in mid-March to discuss matters related to the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, which continues to say it will launch its Anti-Doping and Medication Control Program for Thoroughbred racing March 27. HISA officials said they expect the Federal Trade Commission will approve the regulations by that date given a modification of the HISA law that was included in a federal omnibus spending bill in late December.

The HISA Racetrack Safety Program is currently in place at Parx Racing and Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course. The PHRC last year said it doesn’t have statutory authority to remit and collect the related fees, so the responsibility falls upon the racetracks and other parties to pay HISA assessments.

Tom Chuckas, the PHRC Thoroughbred bureau director, said staff continues to be involved in discussions with HISA officials but not all issues have been resolved.