Scott Waddell on Racing

It’s been a couple years now that the Maritime Provinces Harness Racing Commission adopted a human drug policy in the Maritimes.

Like other regions, it’s put in place for the obvious reason to keep drug users off of horses. That’s blunt, but that’s my understanding.

Now, here is the part of that I question. First off though I will say that I support the program and what it stands for. It’s been something that was a long time coming and is something required.

I do question however some of the “holes” in the system. First off when it comes to drugs, they obviously stay in your system for a certain period of time. Like alcohol or any type of drug.

Here’s what I wonder about and if it’s really indicative of the driver’s ability to drive, “the day of”. For example, a driver does an illegal drug two-days prior to being tested. On the day a driver drives, he hasn’t ingested drugs of any kind, and is “sober”.

Another scenario. Guy goes out on a Friday night, enjoys a few too many of his fave cocktail, is out to the wee hours of the morning, and drives that afternoon as there is no breathalyser. Is this a good thing?

Overall, the human drug testing is working, it has it’s place in racing. Like anything, it can be improved and changes made. I think there needs to be a type of “day test” that allows the tester to know if the driver is under the influence on the day in question.

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