In advance of the Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Program effective date of March 27, 2023, HISA has received requests for clarification of Rule 4222. Please read below.

Rule 4222 (M5 Intra-Articular Injections) reads:

Intra-articular injections are prohibited on Race Day, within 14 days prior to Post-Time, and within 7 days prior to any Timed and Reported Workout.

The prohibitions in Rule 4222 apply to substances injected into any articular space, including, but not limited to, the following:

• Orthobiologics (such as IRAP, PRP, stem cell therapy)
• Corticosteroids (such as betamethasone acetonide, triamcinolone, isoflupredone)
• Hyaluronic Acid (HA) products (such as Legend I.A., Hy-Visc, Hylartin)
• Antibiotics
• Medical devices (such as Spryng, Arthramid Vet*, Noltrex Vet*)
• Anesthetics (such as mepivacaine, lidocaine, bupivacaine)

*Note that Rule 4224, “M7 Intra-articular injections of polyacrylamide hydrogels,” states: “Intra-articular injections of polyacrylamide hydrogels are prohibited within 180 days prior to Post-Time.”

The intra-articular administration of any Banned Substance, such as stanozolol, constitutes an Anti-Doping Rule Violation.

These stand-down times do NOT apply to injections in or around the following structures:

• Sacro-iliac areas
• Bursae
• “Splints”
• Proximal suspensories
• Tendon sheaths
• Epaxial muscles

Injections in or around these structures will be regulated through testing under HISA’s Anti-Doping and Medication Control Program.  For many of these administrations, a withdrawal interval greater than 14 days may be necessary to avoid detection in a treated horse’s collected sample. 

ATTENDING VETERINARIANS: PLEASE NOTE that intra-articular administrations MUST be reported to HISA in an electronic format approved by HISA.

• If you are an Attending Veterinarian currently uploading PDFs of treatment sheets, you will need to separately report these administrations. For a “how-to” video, follow this link: https://hisausregs.org/reg-document-video/801731148
  • If you have not used the HISA portal and need to know in general how to add a record to a horse, follow this link: https://hisausregs.org/reg-document-video/801767309
• Please always select the record type “Intra-articular injection” whenever you are reporting an intra-articular administration through the HISA portal, even if you are performing a diagnostic block.

A NOTE WITH REGARD TO TIMING:

The day of administration is considered day 1 (one). A horse may breeze on day 8 (eight) following administration and may enter to race at any time, provided the race is on day 15 (fifteen) or later.

• A horse injected on a Saturday is eligible to breeze on the following Saturday, and eligible to race two Saturdays after the administration.
  • For example: The horse receives an intra-articular administration on Saturday, January 1^st. The horse is eligible to breeze on Saturday, January 8^th, or later, and to race on Saturday, January 15^th, or later.