The NTRA Safety and Integrity Alliance has given Sunland Park Racetrack “provisional accreditation” after finding that the track did not comply with all of the requirements of the program.

Daily Racing Form reports that Sunland could receive full accreditation in the future if the track and the New Mexico Racing Commission addressed a number of issues that left the track short of the program’s requirements.

Mike Ziegler, executive director of the alliance, said that New Mexico’s rules to not currently require the state’s tracks to conduct pre-race testing for alkalinizing agents in all races, for example, and the state vet is not currently required to conduct pre-race veterinary exams on every horse.

Ziegler added that Sunland Park has promised to hire a veterinarian who will implement a pre-race testing program for alkalinizing agents and who will also perform exams on horses who have not been examined by the state vet.

“They’re doing a really good job of getting up to speed,” Ziegler said.

Also, New Mexico’s threshold level for the painkiller flunixin, which is marketed under the name Banamine, is much higher than the level required by the alliance. The state will also need to adopt rules that limit whips to cushioned crops that are sanctioned by the alliance.

Located in southern New Mexico, across the border from El Paso, Texas, Sunland Park opens its 2010-11 meet on December 11. Ziegler said that the alliance will re-evaluate the track at that time.

The NTRA Safety and Integrity Alliance awards accreditation to racetracks for compliance with a voluntary safety program. The NTRA launched the alliance last year to address public-perception concerns about racing's safety record.

To date, the alliance has granted full accreditation to 17 tracks. Sunland Park is only the second track to receive provisional accreditation. The first was Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, which was granted full accreditation earlier this week, a year after receiving provisional accreditation.