Section 20. Practicing veterinarian

A. Qualifications. A holder of a permit allowing the person to participate as a practicing veterinarian in Virginia shall possess a full and unrestricted license from the Virginia Board of Veterinary Medicine.

B. Prohibitions. A practicing veterinarian shall be prohibited from engaging in the following activities:

1. Owning, directly or indirectly, entirely or a portion of any horse racing at the race meeting where he is practicing veterinary medicine. For purposes of this section, ownership shall be based on being named on the certificate of registration or eligibility paper, or named in a syndicate, corporation, lease, partnership, or other joint venture owning or managing the racehorse and shall not be based solely on community property laws relating to marriage;

2. Wagering on the outcome of any race, either directly or indirectly, at the race meeting where he is practicing veterinary medicine;

3. Furnishing any injection device, injectable substance, or any other medication intended for use by injection to another permit holder without the written permission of the stewards; and

4. Treating any other horses entered to race in the same race as a horse owned or trained by the veterinarian's spouse after entries have closed for that race.

C. Duties. In the exercise of his duties, the practicing veterinarian shall:

1. Treat all horses under his care in a humane manner and report all instances of animal abuse or neglect immediately to the stewards and commission veterinarian;

2. Report immediately to the commission veterinarian and stewards any illness in a horse presenting unusual or unknown symptoms;

3. Maintain complete medical records consistent with the statutes and regulations of the Virginia Board of Veterinary Medicine, and retain duplicate copies of bills or statements issued to trainers or owners for at least one year;

4. Make available to the commission veterinarian, stewards or other commission personnel, upon request, copies of any written or electronic records or billing statements to trainers or owners; and

5. Use only single-use disposable syringes, needles, and infusion tubes and dispose of the syringes, needles, and infusion tubes as directed by the commission veterinarian.

Historical Notes

Derived from VR662-03-02 § 2, eff. August 14, 1991; amended, Volume 16, Issue 21, eff. August 4, 2000; Volume 28, Issue 15, eff. April 16, 2012.

Statutory Authority

§ 59.1-369 of the Code of Virginia.