N.D. Admin. Code 69.5-01-05-27

Current through Supplement No. 393, July, 2024

Section 69.5-01-05-27 - Trainers

The following restrictions and duties apply to trainers.

1. No person may hold a trainer's license unless the trainer:

a. Is at least eighteen years old;

b. Is qualified, in the opinion of the stewards, by reason of experience, background, and knowledge of racing as manifested by passing a written examination and interview administered by the stewards;

c. Has complied with the provisions of the state workers' compensation law and has secured workers' compensation for the trainer's employees in accordance with that law; and

d. Has applied for a trainer's license in the trainer's legal name, and not under any fictitious or stable name.

2. The commission, in considering whether to license a trainer in this state, may consider the licensure of the trainer currently licensed or registered in another state that is a member of the national association of state racing commissioners.

3. The trainer is responsible for and is the absolute insurer of the condition of the horses in the trainer's care and custody and for the conditions and contents of stalls, tack rooms, feed rooms, sleeping rooms, and other areas which have been assigned by the association to the trainer. The trainer is the absolute insurer of the condition of the horses in the trainer's care and custody during the race and is liable for the presence in the trainer's horse during the race of any drug, medication, or any other prohibited substance. A trainer whose horse has been claimed remains responsible for the horse under this section until after the collection of urine or blood specimens as may be required.

4. Each trainer shall report immediately to the stewards and the commission veterinarian any illness in the horse entrusted into the trainer's care presenting unusual or unknown symptoms. Any alteration in the sex of a horse must be reported and noted by the trainer to the racing secretary or horse identification office immediately, and that office must note the same on the foal certificate.

5. A trainer or the trainer's assistant must be present with the trainer's horse in the paddock and shall supervise the saddling of the horse unless the stewards permit a substitute trainer to perform those duties. Every trainer who brings a horse to the paddock warrants that the horse is qualified for the race, ready to run and in physical condition to exert its best efforts, and entered with the intention to win.

6. A trainer shall present the trainer's horse in the paddock at least twenty minutes before post time of the race in which the horse is entered.

7. The following prohibited acts apply to trainers:

a. No trainer may enter or start a horse in any race if the horse is ineligible under these rules or the laws of this state related to racing.

b. No trainer may employ a veterinarian who is not licensed by both the state board of veterinary medicine examiners and the commission.

c. No trainer may employ any person under the age of sixteen.

d. No trainer may employ a jockey for the purpose of preventing the jockey from riding in any race.

e. No trainer may train or be responsible for any horse which is wholly or partly owned by a person under suspension by the stewards or the commission.

8. A trainer is responsible for the condition of a horse trained by the trainer and entered in an official workout or race. A trainer is responsible for the presence of a prohibited drug, medication, or substance in a horse trained by the trainer. A trainer is responsible for the presence of a permitted drug, medication, or substance more than the maximum allowable level in a horse trained by the trainer. A report, by a laboratory approved by the commission, is prima facie evidence of the presence of a prohibited drug, medication, or substance and is prima facie evidence of the presence of a permitted drug, medication, or substance in excess of the maximum allowable level.

9. A trainer whose horse has been claimed remains responsible for any violations of rules regarding that horse's participation in the race in which the horse is claimed.

10. The trainer is responsible for maintaining the assigned stable area in a clean, neat, and sanitary condition at all times.

11. Additionally, with respect to horses in a trainer's care or custody, the trainer is responsible for:

a. The proper identity, custody, care, health, condition, and safety of the horses;

b. Ensuring that at the time of arrival at locations under the jurisdiction of the commission a valid health certificate and a valid negative equine infectious anemia test certificate accompany each horse and which, where applicable, shall be filed with the racing secretary;

c. Having each horse in the trainer's care that is racing, or is stabled on association grounds, tested for equine infectious anemia in accordance with state law and for filing evidence of such negative test results with the racing secretary;

d. Using the service of those veterinarians licensed by the commission to attend horses that are on association ground;

e. Immediately reporting the alteration of the sex of the horse to the horse identifier and the racing secretary;

f. Promptly reporting to the racing secretary and the official veterinarian when a posterior digital neurectomy is performed and ensuring that such fact is designated on its certificate of registration;

g. Promptly notifying the official veterinarian of any reportable disease and any unusual incidence of a communicable illness in any horse in the trainer's charge;

h. Promptly reporting the serious injury or death of any horse at locations under the jurisdiction of the commission to the stewards and the official veterinarian and compliance with the rules in this chapter governing postmortem examinations;

i. Maintaining a knowledge of the medication record and status;

j. Immediately reporting to the stewards and the official veterinarian knowledge or reason to believe, that there has been any administration of a prohibited medication, drug, or substance;

k. Ensuring the fitness to perform credibly at the distance entered;

l. Ensuring that every horse entered to race is present at its assigned stall for a prerace soundness inspection as prescribed in this chapter;

m. Ensuring proper bandages, equipment, and shoes;

n. Presence in the paddock at least twenty minutes before post time or at a time otherwise appointed before the race in which the horse is entered;

o. Personally attending the paddock and supervising the saddling thereof, unless excused by the stewards; and

p. Attending the collection of a urine or blood sample or delegating a licensed employee or the owner to do so.

12. A trainer may represent the owner of a horse in making entry of a horse in a race, or declaring the horse out of a race.

N.D. Admin Code 69.5-01-05-27

Effective July 1, 1989; amended effective January 1, 2008.

Amended by Administrative Rules Supplement 2022-386, October 2022, effective 10/1/2022.

General Authority: NDCC 53-06.2-04, 53-06.2-05, 53-06.2-10

Law Implemented: NDCC 53-06.2-01, 53-06.2-04, 53-06.2-05, 53-06.2-10