The Breeders’ Cup made it happen first. At this point, the American Graded Stakes Committee has authorized a ban on Lasix, which a lot of trainers view being a therapeutic drug, for those graded stakes for 2-year-olds beginning next year. The actual committee’s approval, declared Wednesday, has jump-started a serious discussion on the benefits and drawbacks of the drug.
“I think it’s the start of premeditated animal abuse,” stated trainer Rick Violette Jr., who is likewise the President of the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association. “They’re in a total ‘don’t confuse me with the facts’ mode. ‘Don’t let us get influenced by the science,’ which is black and white. There is very good science that the Jockey Club and Grayson Foundation help pay for that said that 80% of horses bleed and that Lasix was significantly effective in controlling it, if not stopping it altogether in some horses.”
Lasix can be used to avoid blood loss in a horse’s lungs, which usually sometimes is so heavy it pours out of the animal’s nostrils.
- Horse trainer Rick Violette, Jr.
“It’s basically a scarring of the veins in the lungs, and it’s a cumulative effect,” Violette mentioned. “It’s like stress fractures in airplanes. It builds and builds and builds. When you start bleeding, it’s a slippery slope, even if it’s just a small amount. It’s never good. There is no good reason to do this.”
The AGSC is going to review its policy at the end of 2012 to find out whether or not to continue or expand it in the future. The committee’s decision is apparently response to the perception outside the country that drugs are too widespread in American-bred horses.
“There have been questions in many quarters about the integrity of the breed when so many of our horses race on medication,” mentioned Dr. J. David Richardson, chairman of the committee. “We view this as a positive step for the elite-level horses that will race in graded stakes, the ones most likely to perpetuate the breed. We are reaching out to the regulators and tracks in each of the six states that currently conduct 2-year-old graded stakes races and look forward to working with them to implement this policy.”
New York, New Jersey, California, Kentucky, Illinois and Louisiana are the six states the ban has an effect on. The New York Racing Association, which has not dealt with the matter, had no comment on it.
The Breeders’ Cup demands banning Lasix in all 2-year-old races starting next year, followed by a ban in every race beginning in 2013.
Trainer Todd Pletcher supports the utilisation of the medication.
“I’m pro-Lasix,” he was quoted saying. “Nothing has changed for me. Research has proven that horses bleed. We see it all the time. It is well-proven that Lasix is a very effective treatment, a very humane treatment, a very safe treatment and it’s not an expensive treatment for the owners. Also, it’s information that is available to the betting public. In my eyes it’s helping everyone. It’s helping the horse, it’s helping the owner and it’s the most fair thing to the betting public.”
Experts state Lasix causes horses here to race less often compared to Europe, Hong Kong as well as Japan, countries where horses do not run on the drug. However research has shown the average American horse starts 6.3 races annually, like the average around the world.
“Everyone knows about it,” mentioned Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott. “It’s monitored. They are taking away something that is available to horsemen and horses for their benefit.”.
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