Drug Free Racing
 

Simple question: Why can't the Racing Secretary just simply start writing races for horses that race completely drug free?

We hear a lot of trainers/owners say they want the racing to be drug free..

That would be their opportunity to step up and show some leadership in a Sport that sorely needs it. :confused: :mad:

They'd never fill such a race.

You have to look at the big picture. If such a race got some publicity and guys like Andy Beyer, Steve Crist , Steve Byk and the media got behind it..it would put the trainers/owners in a position to make a clear public choice.

You've got to start somewhere...

Drugs don't equal cheating and believe it or not are given for the good of the horse.

look its done everywhere no drugs but here in the states.
also the use of the whip doesn't have to be used to get the best out of the horses. look at the past history of racing no drugs and very sound horses. who raced more then what they do today.

To an extent this is true, but abusing and/or overusing the drugs that are given to a horse is not for the good of the horse.

Yeah, injecting a sore knee of a horse with buvicaine can be good for the horse, as it will lessen the pain, but the risk verses reward isn't worth it and the horse can run through the pain.

Just one example...

Clean race...no such thing anymore...


Personally I'd like to see a race with ONLY JUICED UP horses from the usual suspect trainers...Big Purse,,,no wagering...no deterntion barn prerace or post race drug testing...and let the druggies slug it out for one race. Winner take all! Can you imagine the fractions and staying power they'd have! The only downside is we might have to get about 8 horse ambulances to get them off for the next race to begin.:eek:

It would be like the MLB Home Run Derby of years back...Giambi, Bonds, McGuire, Sosa, Palmeiro, Sheffield et al !!! Yo Big Mac -Pass the snake venom please!

I agree with you.
Most horses "run through the pain".
One of my fillies had a swollen hock. No big deal, no limp or favoring, but just to keep her moving forward, a little bute.
Drugs are part of the equation when used to help, not cheat.
When misused, the horse, or worse yet, the rider can get hurt.

but isn't that exactly what we have now? a situation that us un-policable - everyone thinking the trainers is doing these things for the good of the horse, but in reality some abusing?

Doesn't drug free racing work in Europe?

I really don't know much about European racing.
But I can tell you that ace, bute, and other common "drugs" like lasix are part of the game here. Think mild tranquilizer for a jittery horse, ibuprophen whe mild pain (like human's take for a head-ache), and lasix to prevent cappilaries in the lungs from breaking during exertion.
Heavy drugs that would numb a horse's leg to the point where it can run in a race would be a big concern. The horse could break down, the jock could get hurt. So, to keep it short, if safety is the issue, I'd say it's better to be safe than sorry. Heavy pain killers and stimulants shouldn't be allowed.

I agree with Geeker.

Too often the only reason put drugs in their horses is because everyone else is doing it and they don't want to lose an advantage. How do thousands of horses in Europe race without a problem with no lasix??? Yet every first time maiden in America immediately begins with lasix? I doubt every single maiden here is truly a bleeder. They just don't want to lose that 2 or 3 length advantage.

Having 1 or 2 races a day for clean horses is a great idea.

Now all we need is a Champion :p

How do you know its not a problem ? Did you know that they train on Lasix across the pond ? I have been around too many horses from Europe with damaged lungs from bleeding in races , you think its humane to let the horses basically drown in their own blood ?
If running without Lasix is so good for the horses then how come when the Euro horses come over for the Breeders Cup and other big races they run on Lasix ?

Does that mean you would support the status quo for racing ? The public has just heard of snake venom..what else is being used that the general public doesn't know about? Isn't Lasix a performance enhancing drug? Somemhow this industry has to come to grips with this problem because it isn't just going to disappear.

There is always someone that will try to beat the rules in any venture where money is on the line. Snake Venom is not legal to use just very hard to detect. So a horse could very well be treated with snake venom and still pass the test in your "drug free" race.

"Drugfree" racing is no more possible than drug free football or baseball. The fact that the industry has done a pitiful job in legislating and policing the issue should be the issue. For without the correct rules and stringent testing any race that is called "drugfree" would be a farce.

it works perfectly fine in Dubai.

Lasix is given to reduce EIPE , so I guess not having the horse bleed while being asked for its life is performance enhancing , I personally think its health enhancing for the horse.
There is so much stuff that was used before people had access to information that it would blow your mind and this goes back to the days of limited testing , so if you think people can get away with stuff now how do you think it was back then.
I dont agree with what trainers do as far as injecting horses throats with mepevicane before a race because they have breathing problems ( alltho it does seem more humane than slitting their throats for a myectomy ) and I dont agree with blocking horses legs so they cant feel anything , but to be honest in my 13 years as a jockey I rode quit a few horses that were blocked and never had any breakdown including horses that were heal nerved.
But back to the point , everyone always brings up the fact that in Europe they dont use race day meds , but no one ever mentions that they do train on them , they just have to make sure they are clear by the time they run.
Have you ever seen a horse gush blood from its nostrils? Not a very pretty sight to see a horse in that much distress when it can be prevented by giving them a simple dieuretic.

I was at a track in Groenedaal, Belgium. A horse came back to the paddock after a race and had blood flowing from his nostrils like it was water out of a faucet. Definitely not a pretty sight.

Another case, I've been watching a lot of "jump" replays from a New Zealand website and one particular horse caught my attention. He had a number of wins and looks to be a very promising hurdler. After one race where he finished second, he was found to be a "bleeder" and was banned from racing for 3 months. How would you like to be an owner of a horse that could not run because he bled, when the use of Lasix could overcome this problem and allow the horse to continue to compete.

Lasix and bute have positive uses, provided they are administered properly.

I'm for all drugs in racing...for the horse player. I figure it will help my odds of picking a winner and getting a good price.

Besides, a bourbon now and then helps me, really calms me down, and I did much better with it Wednesday on it watching Sumwonlovesme.

Spyder (B)

on Bourbon

I have spoken out for a complete overhaul of the rules, regulations, etc. that govern this sport and industry. I am 100% for uniform and universal medication rules and the same for penalties, fines and suspensions.

However, with that being said, you will never achieve absolute -- even if you model after countries and jurisdictions that have zero tolerance. Reason being, as said, there will always be someone who is trying to gain the competitive edge. It might be on "this side" of the line, but eventually, it's always going to graduate and progress to the "illegal" side of the line. Why? It's simple. Money! Purse money, gambling, per diem, barn stake, and so on -- everywhere . . . Money.

Great concept. Not practical or feasible, but great concept. A so called drug free race does not exist today. Card the race at Fantasy Land Downs. There are numerous drugs floating around today thay the governing bodies cannot test for, so there goes your drug free race.

Personally, I think much of what we've seen, read about, formed committee's on, discussed, etc -- is truly not the real issue. There is no leadership in addressing and dealing with this problem. States won't work together. The thoroughbred industry needs to look no further than NJ and Toronto in order to see the progress that has been made in "catching" the criminals. How to "catch" them is one thing. Punishing them is something completely different, and NJ hasn't done such a great job on this front.

There are labs, testing facilities, tests, etc. that are much more progressive than what we know about in our industry. Of course it becomes a question of money, however, money can be a very small hurdle when there is leadership. I've attended enough of these committee and industry meetings to see that the sport and industry needs to "lead, follow or get out of the way"

Eric

There is drug-free professional wrestling!

After all, I was watching Court TV the other day (God only knows why!) and someone on there claimed the WWF uses drug tests that are tougher than olympic athletes are subjected to.

I think they said that after they read off a list of 100 wrestlers who died young or fairly young.

I know a bodybuilder who's really fond of using horse drugs like Winstrol, Equipoise, and Clembuteral. He's almost always in a sour mood.

I've rarely ever been more miserable than I was the day and a half after I took lasix.

All goofiness aside, it would be fantastic to see horses run on just hay, oats, and water. It could also very possibly have a positive impact on the breed. As the horses who need medication to produce their good form would possibly be weeded out of the pedigree.

But like ELA said, that's all a fantasy.

Clenbuteral.

is there an echo in here?

No, just a few people who never contended for that spelling bee they show on ESPN every year.

Can you give me the orgin of the word....and use it in a sentence as well?

Can't say I can totally disagree with you, Honu, Cannon, ELA and others..

But I remember a lot of people saying that poly/cushion was a fantasy.

I hope everyone keeps the pressure on so things can get cleaned up in a timely manor.

You are right, and I agree with you. As soon as "they" stop talking about the problem and starting doing, solving the problem. We also need a "they" to step up and take the lead.

Eric

Well if a horse is a true bleeder.....maybe they shouldn't be in racing in the first place.......

I agree with Drugs that the bleeders of horse racing should be weeded out and then we wouldn't have to use lasix.

No and No.

On BodyBuilding.Com they have a few gems about this drug in its profile.

* "Clenbuterol is a very widely used drug and has quite a reputation. A good one among athletes and recreational users, and a very bad one among those people who know very little about illegal performance enhancing aids."

* "Just to demonstrate the wide use of this drug and its immense popularity among athletes, observe the US Olympic team. Exercise-induced asthma is an affliction that generally occurs in 3-7% of the population, and is in some rare cases treated with clenbuterol. In 2000, 60% of US Olympic athletes claimed to have exercise-induced asthma and ALL of them were prescribed clenbuterol for this condition. An otherwise illegal drug, tolerated solely for this reason. And this while the Romanian gymnast Andrea Raducan was stripped of her gold medal for the 25 µg of norephedrine in her cold medicine she was taking."

Athletes are getting to be as shady as bodybuilders and pro wrestlers. I'm sure more than half of our Olympians really do have asthma. But hey, it would be highly cruel for us to let them try and perform without having that drug to fight off their imaginary afflictions.

I love the idea more as a statement than anything else. I think I would like to know what Todd Pletcher and Steve Assmussen would do to clean up the sport. Anyone ever asked their opinion? Wonder what the penalty would be....

Your honesty is an admirable trait.

after reading a biography on Man O War, i would have to say this is very untrue.
seems there was more cocaine flying around back then, than an 80's big hair band after party.

Clenbuterol is a very important and valuable therapy for horses that have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Bute is a terrific therapeutic for treating inflammation and pain. Lasix prevents horses from having permanently scarred lungs and decreased lung function.

What I think is most needed is a national consistency in allowable and non-allowable medications, withdrawal times, permissable levels, etc.

And no, I don't think the racing industry, as a whole, cares to pursue this aggressively. Some do, and I do wish them success.

In Australia, you can't race as a bleeder. No lasix allowed. You get about two chances to bleed, and then you are gone.

This takes care of a lot of problems. Just ban the horses from racing if they bleed.

No racing

No wins

No stud career

No worries

This is the follow-up of the recent published and questioned salix overages from the Keeneland meet. Oops, they tossed some of the split samples :rolleyes:

http://news.bloodhorse.com/viewstory.asp?id=39776

A couple of timely document in the San Diego paper:



http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniont...z1s16bute.html


http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniont...16delmeds.html

Did anyone else think that the manner in which Randy Moss addressed the Biancone situation (merely assuring the audience that Biancone believes that he did nothing wrong and that he "sleeps well at night") yesterday on ESPN's coverage of the Delaware Handicap was nothing short of pathetic?

wonder if that policy helps the exportation of horse meat business

But the export of horsemeat from Australia has been going on since the 1970s, though only in a small way back then. The first major export was 7777 tonnes in 1981. The biggest ever year was 1986 when 9327 tonnes were shipped out, representing the slaughter of well over 30,000 horses. After that, although it fluctuated, there was a steady decline to 6000 tonnes in 1999, then it halved again to some 3000 tonnes in 2003, representing about 10,000 horses. But the price has steadily risen, due at least in part to the mad cow disease scares causing people to turn away from beef. The approximate export value per kilogram in 2004 was $3.30 compared with $2.70 in 1999.[2] This translates to a great deal more on the dinner table, over US$50/kg according to some sources.[3]

It is not we Australians who are eating our horses because it is illegal to eat horsemeat here. It is diners mainly in Europe who are indulging, plus some Japanese. The two abattoirs in Australia licensed to export horsemeat are in fact Belgian-owned. They are at Peterborough in South Australia (Metro Velda Pty Ltd) and Caboolture abattoir in Queensland (Meramist Pty Ltd).

Very disappointing.. Moss had a chance to show some leadership on the subject - as Andy Beyers has! - We need others in the Media to get on board and have the guts to speakout ...Kudos to Andy !!