The official veterinarian(s) will be employed by the commission, and be a graduate veterinarian, licensed to practice veterinary medicine in a recognized jurisdiction approved by the executive secretary. An official veterinarian is exempt from Washington state licensure per RCW 18.92.060. The official veterinarian(s) will perform the following duties:

(1) Recommend to the board of stewards any horse the official veterinarian believes is unsafe to be raced, or a horse that it would be inhumane to allow to race;

(2) Place and remove horses from the veterinarian's list;

(3) Place and remove horses from the bleeder list;

(4) Supervise the test barn;

(5) Supervise the collection of all specimens for testing;

(6) Provide proper safeguards in the handling of all collected specimens to prevent tampering, confusion or contamination;

(7) Provide the stewards a written report regarding the nature, seriousness, and meaning of concentration levels, if any, for all laboratory reports of prohibited substances in equine samples;

(8) Have jurisdiction over all licensed veterinarians on the grounds for the purpose of these rules;

(9) Report to the commission the names of all horses humanely destroyed or that die on the grounds at the race meet. This report will include the reason a horse was destroyed;

(10) Maintain records of postmortem examinations performed on horses that have died on association grounds;

(11) Be available to the stewards prior to scratch time each race day to inspect any horses and report on their condition;

(12) Be present in the paddock during saddling, on the racetrack during the post parade and at the starting gate until the horses are dispatched from the gate for the race;

(13) Inspect any horse when there is a question as to its physical condition or soundness;

(14) Recommend to the stewards a horse be scratched if the horse is physically incapable of exerting its best effort to win;

(15) Inspect any horse that appears in physical distress during the race or at the finish of the race and report their findings to the stewards;

(16) Work with practicing veterinarians and other regulatory agencies to take measures to control communicable and/or reportable equine diseases;

(17) Periodically review horse registration certificates to ensure that all required test and health certificates are current and properly filed in accordance with these rules; and

(18) Humanely destroy any horse so seriously injured that it is in the best interests of the horse to act.