Important Comprehensive Look At Drugs In Racing

[Patuxet]

TDN is running a unique in-depth, six-part magazine series that should be required reading for every owner. It will also cause this owner to take a closer look at racetrack vet bills.

Part I is a history of drugs in racing. Part II discusses specific drugs, points out inconsistencies in drug rules from state to state, identifies trainers with the most positives and their ineffective, slap-on-the-wrist fines and endlessly appealed suspensions.

It details the particularly graphic example of a horse named Coronado Heights whose career spanned six weeks and three races. During the last 25 days of his life, the horse received 24 separate injections of nine different drugs. This despite the fact that his veterinarian said he had no history of lameness and, according to the death certificate, Michael McCarthy, overseeing the horse for trainer Todd Pletcher, said the breakdown was a complete shock to him and that the horse had no soundness issues.

Read it and weep!

http://thoroughbreddailynews.com/members/magazine/

[ratherrapid]

the drug issue imo is the last thing horse racing need worry about at the moment. drugs certainly would be on the table of an unlimited budget with respect to the isolated e.g.s of abuse.

most on the back stretch in my experience are honest, trying to do the best by the horse etc. injections, etc.--what would u prefer--that the horse go to the meat wagon?

truth is the resources are insufficient to properly monitor horse care, drugs, vets, inappropriate training that causes most of the problems.

personally i get sick and tired of the same group of paranoids chiming in every time the subject of drugs in racing comes up, and ask the question as to why horse racing spends so much $$$ catering to this idiot group. Rudy Rodgriguez, hardly the brightest bulb in the universe, ala dutrow made an error. the news ought to be that the mistake was caught.

[Sysonby]

Nice post ratherrapid and I do agree. If you look at the article, some of "drugs" being tut tutted about are Adequan and Legend and absolutely legal Bute and Lasix.

Really? Hysterical much?

Honestly it looked like a weekend warrior show horse regimen to me (with the exception of Lasix, possibly the Bute and I'm not sure why the horse got Banamine. Then again being a racehorse is a tough job.)

[wilf]

How can you say that the drug problem should not be front and center of any discussion about racing? American racing is a joke that is really not funny. Try being an owner /trainer in an atmosphere where the drug cheats operate with alacrity and laugh in the faces of stewards who issue fines and let the crooks keep the purse. The straight guys in this game are losing ground fast and racing is the worse for it. It's really difficult to have a horse catastrophically break down in the morning or in a race. I have tried for 30 years to achieve that and failed, it must take weeks of ignoring warning signs or simply have vets just block pain and have your horse run as if everything is normal. If we cannot put the horse's well being at the top of the list then I suggest that we just bet on virtual racing machines ,it really would not bother me , at least the scum mentioned in the cheater stats would have to find employment elsewhere perhaps as Michael Vick's waterboys. As far as the vet's records of that horse's treatment ,the unfortunate thing is that the barrage of anti-inflammatory shots are legal . I never could understand the daily use of Clenbuterol as mentioned in the article, it is a bronchodilator which jn turn helps increase oxygen flow to muscles giving an anabolic effect just like exercise does. However as a bronchdilator you really should not have it happening while the horse is standing in it's dusty stall or dusty barn ........I never saw the wisdom of that but that is entirely a personal opinion not born of any science, training racehorses is more or less a gut instinct game anyway in it's purest form. The poor beast described in the article was racing at Aqueduct in February on the inner dirt course and the surface may not have been ideal. It broke down in a foreleg and if it had been "blocked" by the vet it certainly would not have been recorded. I personally doubt that it was but I always think the best of people until evidence shows otherwise. It's just another unfortunate statistic in a business where State laws vary in thresholds, enforcement , penalties and integrity. It's a damn shame.

[ratherrapid]

How can you say that the drug problem should not be front and center of any discussion about racing? American racing is a joke that is really not funny. Try being an owner /trainer in an atmosphere where the drug cheats operate with alacrity and laugh in the faces of stewards who issue fines and let the crooks keep the purse. The straight guys in this game are losing ground fast and racing is the worse for it. It's really difficult to have a horse catastrophically break down in the morning or in a race. I have tried for 30 years to achieve that and failed, it must take weeks of ignoring warning signs or simply have vets just block pain and have your horse run as if everything is normal. If we cannot put the horse's well being at the top of the list then I suggest that we just bet on virtual racing machines ,it really would not bother me , at least the scum mentioned in the cheater stats would have to find employment elsewhere perhaps as Michael Vick's waterboys. As far as the vet's records of that horse's treatment ,the unfortunate thing is that the barrage of anti-inflammatory shots are legal . I never could understand the daily use of Clenbuterol as mentioned in the article, it is a bronchodilator which jn turn helps increase oxygen flow to muscles giving an anabolic effect just like exercise does. However as a bronchdilator you really should not have it happening while the horse is standing in it's dusty stall or dusty barn ........I never saw the wisdom of that but that is entirely a personal opinion not born of any science, training racehorses is more or less a gut instinct game anyway in it's purest form. The poor beast described in the article was racing at Aqueduct in February on the inner dirt course and the surface may not have been ideal. It broke down in a foreleg and if it had been "blocked" by the vet it certainly would not have been recorded. I personally doubt that it was but I always think the best of people until evidence shows otherwise. It's just another unfortunate statistic in a business where State laws vary in thresholds, enforcement , penalties and integrity. It's a damn shame.

My experience in the midwest is that about 20% of the back stretch similar to 20% of the population are ethically challenged. The "would fail to know the truth if they saw it in church on Sunday morning crowd". A certain % of these are active medicine persons instead of trainers and will push the rules or openly cheat.

Imo the latter is a very small % were I have been, and, in general the cheats--lacking basic smarts--generally get caught.

I think it's important to avoid confusing horse welfare with illegal drugs. Muddies the argument. Is there anybody out there besides the cheats themselves who disfavor strong enforcement? The rules are already in place. One can argue penalties. Again, in my experience the stewards tend toward the punishment fitting the crime to the dismay of the hang 'em high crowd who believe every "overage" is akin to axe murder.

Additionally--drug enforcement would be high on my agenda IF the funds were there. As it is, racing need imo concentrate on promotion and adverstising, then other issues when $$$ becomes available--horse before cart-- even if I seem to be the only one on the planet that understands this.

[Sysonby]

How can you say that the drug problem should not be front and center of any discussion about racing? American racing is a joke that is really not funny. Try being an owner /trainer in an atmosphere where the drug cheats operate with alacrity and laugh in the faces of stewards who issue fines and let the crooks keep the purse. The straight guys in this game are losing ground fast and racing is the worse for it. It's really difficult to have a horse catastrophically break down in the morning or in a race. I have tried for 30 years to achieve that and failed, it must take weeks of ignoring warning signs or simply have vets just block pain and have your horse run as if everything is normal. If we cannot put the horse's well being at the top of the list then I suggest that we just bet on virtual racing machines ,it really would not bother me , at least the scum mentioned in the cheater stats would have to find employment elsewhere perhaps as Michael Vick's waterboys. As far as the vet's records of that horse's treatment ,the unfortunate thing is that the barrage of anti-inflammatory shots are legal . I never could understand the daily use of Clenbuterol as mentioned in the article, it is a bronchodilator which jn turn helps increase oxygen flow to muscles giving an anabolic effect just like exercise does. However as a bronchdilator you really should not have it happening while the horse is standing in it's dusty stall or dusty barn ........I never saw the wisdom of that but that is entirely a personal opinion not born of any science, training racehorses is more or less a gut instinct game anyway in it's purest form. The poor beast described in the article was racing at Aqueduct in February on the inner dirt course and the surface may not have been ideal. It broke down in a foreleg and if it had been "blocked" by the vet it certainly would not have been recorded. I personally doubt that it was but I always think the best of people until evidence shows otherwise. It's just another unfortunate statistic in a business where State laws vary in thresholds, enforcement , penalties and integrity. It's a damn shame.

I diverge a little from RR insofar as I believe illegal drugs are the biggest issue racing faces. But lets talk about real drugs--cobra venom, the "caines". EPO, elephant juice etc and not gin up this stuff. Does anyone really think Legend and Adequan are bad or vitamin shots or that the horse broke down because he got Lasix? But that is what the article is driving at counting up the needle sticks. And wilf, even you have to move into the "what about what we don't know territory" because most of what is there is completely legal. That of course is the corrosive effect of articles like this. Instead of rousting the serious threats --the real cheaters if you will-racing seems to get obsessed with nanogram violations and therapeutic medications.

[Jean]

The problem is not the illegal drugs it is the legal ones. Seriously take a look at what is pumped into these animals! The bad thing is is racing is getting the negative rap when every rodeo horse, show horse futurity horse is getting it done also all in the name of winning! Where does the legitimate care for the horse come along, how many of these same trainers, owners would do what they do to their own children so they could compete! The scary part is don't blame the trainers the owners are who wants it they say they don't but if they go to a trainer that doesn't use all the tricks and don't win they cry to get back to one who does. And how does the average owner or trainer afford what some of these horses are getting legally to stay in the game. They don"t. Places like New York are legislating so there has to be some legitimate compassion for the animal whether the owners and trainers like it or not but it's a sad day when pur "Horsemen" have to be legislated to care!

[Fireslam]

Absolutely agree with Sysonby. That vet list on that horse was perfectly legal (vitamins, Adequan, hyaluronic acid, which is nothing but helpful for the horse). These are not the problems. Do you think these are what is making horses drop dead galloping? Is this what the "super trainers" are using to win and win and win and win? Bute and/or banamine, 24 hours out, will not make a sore horse sound.

[ratherrapid]

[quote="Jean"] Seriously take a look at what is pumped into these animals!

What is it is being pumped into these animals?

[valjoe]

Bute and/or banamine, 24 hours out, will not make a sore horse sound.

Hi Fireslam

bute and banamine will cause a sore horse not to feel pain, that's for sure. the thing is they're given for a prolonged time and are just stopped 24 hours out, that with a combination of tapped joints (also legal) and only walking the horse for a week or two going to the race and there you go..., legal drugs are abused and are equally dangerous

[3nutmeg]

I heard an interview about how Animal Kingdom won the KY Deby on Lasix but when he won the D.World Cup he wasn't on it. Do all racehorses need Lasix? It isn't used in Europe and around the world. The interview included an American working with horses I France and the European view of American rating is a joke. In that same interview Dale Romans said that "we" should take advantage of these "legal" drugs to win. He said that we don't see those horses going back to the barn with blood streaming out of their noses and mouths. Is bleeding hereditary? If a horse can't win without so many needle stix, maybe it shouldn't race? Maybe they need more rest between races? I took in a mare that had a "rooster?" neck because of being stuck so much(that's what I was told).
If a horse is sore it should get time off, not kept on bute.

[Tappiano]

That's the real problem, how do you know who your bleeders are? What owner wants to be the one to discover his 500K yearling purchase dropped dead after hemorrhaging because he wasn't allowed to race on lasix and nobody could tell him at the sales that the family were known bleeders so he should not run without it?

If you ever wondered why really good horses in Europe suddenly appear in the US to race.... one of those reasons had been (90% of the time) because they bled. Not always, but for twenty or more years it was a given that a bleeder in Europe could not only race in the US, but should he win a few graded races, he'd even wind up at stud where he could pass along those lovely traits.

[bdw0617]

I just read that article and what got me was the mentioning of the "stacking" of legal drugs. that really bothered me a lot.

it's one thing to give a horse lasix. It's another thing to give a hores lasix and like 4 other drugs that do teh same thing all to try to find an edge which is, perfectly legal.

i don't see how anyone can sit here and defend that i really don't.

i'm not anti drug. I'm just pro common sense. I don't mind drugs in horse racing to some extent but we are abusing the drugs.

Hell Ritalin, Xanax, even ZZquill are all perfectly legal drugs it doesn't mean I can't abuse them


that story about the todd pletcher horse really rubbed me the wrong way. that was sad.

I just read part 2 that's what i am talking about

[valjoe]

If you ever wondered why really good horses in Europe suddenly appear in the US to race.... one of those reasons had been (90% of the time) because they bled. Not always, but for twenty or more years it was a given that a bleeder in Europe could not only race in the US, but should he win a few graded races, he'd even wind up at stud where he could pass along those lovely traits

Hi Tappiano,

I totally agree with you, yet this is another legit reason to ban the use of Lasix

[TJ]

I just read that article and what got me was the mentioning of the "stacking" of legal drugs. that really bothered me a lot.

it's one thing to give a horse lasix. It's another thing to give a hores lasix and like 4 other drugs that do teh same thing all to try to find an edge which is, perfectly legal.

i don't see how anyone can sit here and defend that i really don't.

i'm not anti drug. I'm just pro common sense. I don't mind drugs in horse racing to some extent but we are abusing the drugs.

Hell Ritalin, Xanax, even ZZquill are all perfectly legal drugs it doesn't mean I can't abuse them


that story about the todd pletcher horse really rubbed me the wrong way. that was sad.

I just read part 2 that's what i am talking about

Hi bdw,
What I found sad about that story was they omitted to tell us Coronado Heights was hit hard by another rival at the 1/2 mile pole and immediately brokedown before reaching the first turn. TJ