Medication of or tampering with race animals
Wis. Stat. § 562.09
in effect(1) Department rules.
(a) The department shall promulgate and enforce rules governing the administration of medication and foreign substances to animals at racetracks where there is racing and medical testing of those animals. The rules shall provide that no medication or foreign substance, as defined by the department, may be administered to an animal within 48 hours prior to its entry in a race and that no animal participating in a race may carry any medication or foreign substance in its body, except as provided in this paragraph. The rules may permit specified levels of the following medications or foreign substances to be present in the body of an animal participating in a race if it is determined by the department that the medication or foreign substance entered the body of the animal through the food chain: procaine and its metabolites; sulfa drugs and their metabolites; polyethylene glycol; and any other medication or foreign substance that may enter the body of an animal through the food chain and that the department determines will not affect the integrity of the race or will not be relevant to the wagering public if the medication or foreign substance is present in an animal participating in a race. The rules shall specify the permissible levels of those medications or foreign substances consistent with levels resulting from food ingestion and in a manner that enables the levels to be detected in a urine sample of the animal.
(b) The department shall establish, by rule, the qualifications for any laboratory which the department uses for testing under this section.
(2) Testing and detention.
(a) The owner or the agent or employee of the owner of any animal on a racetrack shall permit any member, steward, employee or other agent of the department to make any test which the department determines to be proper to determine if a medication or foreign substance has been administered to that animal in violation of sub. (1).
(b)
1. The department shall require, by rule, that every horse entered in a race be tested before the race to determine if a medication or foreign substance has been administered to the horse in violation of sub. (1). The rule shall require that every horse entered in a race shall be detained from the time the prerace test is administered until the horse leaves the detention area to proceed to the start of the race. The rules shall limit the persons who may be present when samples are taken for the tests and who may be present in the detention area and shall identify who those persons may be.
2. The department shall require, by rule, that immediately after every race at least one animal, as identified by the department rule, be tested to determine if a medication or foreign substance has been administered to the animal in violation of sub. (1). A steward or veterinarian employed by, under contract with or approved by the department may designate additional animals to be tested to determine whether a violation of sub. (1) has occurred.
(bm) The rules which the department applies at racetracks at fairs under pars. (a) and (b) and sub. (1) may differ from the rules which the department applies under pars. (a) and (b) and sub. (1) at other racetracks.
(c) Any finding by the department that a medication or foreign substance has been administered to an animal in violation of sub. (1) is prima facie evidence of a violation of sub. (1).
(d) The results of any test under this subsection shall be kept on file by the department for at least one year following the test.
(e) The department shall establish, by rule, and charge fees for testing under this subsection. Fees received under this paragraph shall be credited to the appropriation accounts under ss. 20.455 (2) (g) and 20.505 (8) (g).
(3) Prohibited acts. No person may do any of the following:
(a) Enter an animal in a race if the person knows or should know that a medication or foreign substance has been administered to that animal in violation of sub. (1).
(b) Administer a medication or foreign substance to an animal in violation of sub. (1).
(c) Willfully fail to disqualify an animal from competing in a race if the person has notice of any of the following:
1. That a medication or foreign substance has been administered to the animal in violation of sub. (1).
2. That the animal was not properly made available for any test or inspection required by the department.
3. That the animal has been suspended from a race under this chapter or under any rule promulgated under this chapter or under the laws of any other state.
(d) Use, attempt to use or conspire to use a battery, buzzer, electrical, mechanical or other appliance for the purpose of stimulating or depressing an animal or affecting its performance in a race or workout.
(e) Sponge the nostrils or windpipe of an animal.
(em) Unless the person is a veterinarian, have in his or her possession on a racetrack or track located at a fair where there is racing any equipment for the hypodermic injection of an animal or any substance for hypodermic injection of an animal. The department may, by rule, permit the possession of an injectable substance or hypodermic equipment for the person’s personal use.
(f) Have in his or her possession on a racetrack any appliance which can be used to stimulate or affect the speed of an animal except a whip authorized by the department by rule or a spur authorized by the department by rule.
(g) Use any method to affect the condition of an animal on a racetrack or to affect the performance of an animal in a race or workout in violation of this chapter or any rule promulgated under this chapter.
Source: WI Statutes (Official Site)URL: https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/document/statutes/562.09Fetched: 10/7/2026