Citing her trend setting work in developing enforcement strategies to detect doping as well as to safeguard equine welfare, Association of Racing Commissioners International chair Domenic DiCera has appointed Amanda English of Oklahoma as chair of the ARCI Drug Testing Standards and Practices Committee (DTSP).
Although relatively new to racing regulation, English has advanced quickly based on her two decades experience in law enforcement, where she served as an Oklahoma Police Chief and working as an investigator for the U.S. Department of Defense. She also has an extensive background in professional education from her work as Director of Oklahoma's Basic Peace Officer Certification Academy.
"Amanda English is recognized for a career spanning military support, policing, regulatory leadership, and public-service innovation--consistently focused on integrity, modernization, and community impact," DiCera said. "She brings new and fresh ideas to the regulatory and enforcement network."
English introduced the concept of Equine Protective Orders that temporarily excludes from race eligibility all horses in the care of a trainer with an elevated and documented pattern of breakdowns, horses finishing in distress, or needing to be vanned off. Horses could return to competition after the trainer successfully proves suitability resulting from increased and independent assessments.
RCI President Ed Martin noted that English is a certified Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) of the International Association of Chiefs of Police. A drug recognition expert (DRE) is trained to recognize drug use. "The concept of applying this to anti-doping programs in
racing is new and innovative and will challenge every regulator as these discussions progress."
The next meeting of the ARCI DTSP committee will take place on October 16, 2026. Details are on the meeting tab of the ARCI website.
