California moves forward on stricter drug penalties
 

http://www.drf.com/news/article/81765.html

.....I wish all State Racing Boards could agree on a zero tollerance stance on all drugs!! Well, at least it's a start...Thanks CA!

Instituting a 28 day withdrawl for clenbuterol is a joke. This is a legal medication that is used to treat a common problem, especially in a state that has a poor as air quality as S. cal does. They are going to kill the sport with thinking like this. You want to make the withdrawl a week? No problem, but in a state that is already hurting for horses taking horses that have lung infections out of circulation for a month is stupid.
We all know the steroid thing was coming and I do believe that there is abuse of these but a complete ban will also serve to shrink the horse population further.
Changing rules due to public perception usually leads to knee jerk reactions like this. Instead of trying to make workable rules that make sense they come up with ideas that may kill their product.

I guess this is easier than attempting a real solution like finding out what illegal or " unknown " medications are being used and developing a test for them.

It is so typical of the CHRB in response to the terrible job that they have done to place the blame on trainers and horses.
Here is what Richard Shapiro is really saying," We have done such a terrible job here at the CHRB in regulating the sport we have decided to abolish all trainers and horses and run computer simulations in their place. It is our finding that there are just too many physical problems with real horses, and with all those pesky medications that mask other pesky medications that those cheating trainers have cooked up in their home based chemistry labs, we just have lost control. Our informant (the guy who sold horses from france that never showed up here but charged the owners for training for 2 years and was given back his license in order to be a snitch for the CHRB) says that outside BALCO and Pvals house, there are no bigger drug dens in CA than Santa Anita and Hollywood Park. So we decided to just get rid of the trainers and all their problems and all the horses and their problems and just run some computer simulation that all the "fans" will bet on anyway. I mean one of the most suspect trainers called them names and they STILL showed up and played his horses so maybe he had a point. We still haven't come up with a penalty schedule for computer viruses but I doubt the fans will even notice this as they barely noticed how badly we were screwing up for years. We also will be saving the state a ton of money by not having any CHRB employees , and being that very few of them did anything anyway, I'm sure Arnold will be very pleased with us and maybe he can get me a job with his friends at the indian casino when my term expires."

I don't pay a lot of attention to California racing, but wasn't the " polytrack mandate " yet another kneejerk reaction, and not necessarily what was best for everyone?

What's the difference...we're all idiots...at least in California.

This drug (Clenbuterol) not only builds muscle, but increases lung capacity and acts as a stimulant. This drug is constantly talked about on body building sites.They talk about it as if it is something to use along with the anabolic steroids they use. Be nice if the drug was just used for breathing problems.It has many "uses." That is the problem.

It's effectiveness with regard to anabolic effects in horses are questionable. It would act as a stimulant if given an hour before a race, 28 days is a joke. It is a LEGAL drug produced in the USA and used LEGALLY by humans with asthma. I dont think that people understand that if you take away all means to help horses in regards to physical issues both minor and major, you are hurting the smaller owners and trainers who can not afford to give their horses extended periods of rest all the time. Ban steroids totally and you increase the time it takes for horses recovering from surgery. Which costs more money which makes an already unstable investment more unprofitable. All that crap about helping the breed is a lot of BS.

Didn't they have trouble with teenagers using this drug to win awards at Livestock shows? Their steers were lookin' mighty good.Are you saying it is not used to put muscle on horses? Isn't this the reason they would want such a long withdrawal period before races?

I don't think Rick Shapiro needs to get a job from Arnold. Rick is a very wealthy man. He is a multi-millionaire. He and his family have been in the horseracing business for 40 years.

I agree with you that the CHRB has done a very poor job over the years. But I think this new CHRB headed by Rick Shapiro has done a great job. He has only been on the job for a few years and he has not been afraid to push for aggressive changes. With the past CHRBs, it was always business as usual. They never did anything. They would never make any changes. Rick is the first guy to get in there and make major changes. I'm glad they are being proactive. There is always risk when you push for agressive reform, but I think that most of the changes they are making are positive.

By the way, it's not as if Shapiro is making these decisions on his own with no input. Richard Mandella and Dr. Arthur are both on the medication committee. I assume that Mandella and Arthur both agree with the new medication rules. In fact, I bet that they are the ones that came up with these new rules.

The polytrack mandate may have been somewhat of a kneejerk reaction but it is the best thing that has ever happened here. Desperate measures are necessary when you have a desperate situation. It was just too difficult to keep horses sound on the surfaces out here. Maybe they could have put in new dirt tracks instead of polytrack, but I'm not going to complain. All I know is that polytrack is a huge improvement over what he had before. They had to do something to stop the bleeding. I don't know if this was the best way to stop the bleeding, but at least the bleeding has been stopped.

Thank you SCUD! Very well put!

In regards to physical issues,How about getting after the breeders for a better product?

Scud

Clenbutorol is used to drop water weight in a cutting cycle, its not used to add mass, or strength for bodybuilders. Its strictly for reducing.

You do crash off of clen however, and I think horses crash off it as well.

Come to think of it Clen and DNP would be great for a rider to use to reduce, not a female though. The DNP is too strong, but the clen if used the right way is useful.

it's the latest diet craze in teenage girls...I read an article about a month ago ...I think some kid died using it

So,it doesn't build new muscle? It decreases body fat(making one appear more muscular?) I have seen it called a synthetic growth enhancer.I would expect that to mean it adds muscle,but maybe it just reduces body fat.It is obvious that they want to avoid these effects,and it would probably be the reason they want the long(28 day) withdrawal period.My guess is they will negotiate this down to the 7 days that the Chucksta is talking about(as being reasonable.)BTW is this the drug that Scott Lake over-used so much that he is on the sidelines?

Thats interested PJ and Scud. Ive never seen that article, but I know first hand the stuff is potent. I will still run a cycle of clen with a few different things but for anyone who doesnt know how to use it, its deadly. The DNP is worse. Hopefully the young highschool girls wont get their hands on that stuff.

Ive always thought horses crash just like I would off the clen. Which is why trianers who use the clen up until last cut off date are hard to take off. If you fail to continue the clen use the horse will be flat as a pancake.

I dont know what Lake uses, or doesnt use. I know if you take off him you better continue to use whatever he does or the horse will be flat as a pancake

Ive always used clen to cut, never to add any muscle at all. It just gets rid of extra weight. I also think a lot of the reason horses bleed with such frequency is because of the steroids they use. I know EQ, or DECA used in excess can cause a horse to bleed. Trainers will use EQ, DECA, WINSTROL, TRENBOLONE, then think a little KY red, or Lasix is going to to the trick, not all the time. All of those drugs will cause a horse to bleed, especially when used in conjunction. I will often wake up with a nosebleed when cycling through the aforementioned.

Is there an equivalent in horses of Human Growth Hormone (HGH) also used in bodybuilding & fitness competitions?

that's not actually true in humans...because the drug will stop working over time...but it will also phuck up your metabolism and consequently you gain weight and can't lose it...not to mention that in addition to buring excess fat there is evidence that it also burns excess protein which will actually contribute to muscle wasting, and of course long term use causes collagen fibers to infiltrate heart muscle and cause it to stiffen leading to reduced cardiac output and potential heart attack...bodybuilders who use it don't really understand the long term potential effects.

and the same could be said for horsemen who overuse it....

This is what happens when they take away their ephedrine!

PJ,

Most people using that stuff are willing to risk the side effects for the quick results.

I know...true for the beauty queen, bodybuilders and some horse trainers...

Finally, someone steps up and has the balls to do something about the usage of anabolic steroids, which I believe is extremely detrimental to the health of these animals.

However, I do not believe that there should be a complete ban on steroids, as they can be extremely useful for those horses that are recovering from injuries and surgeries. In fact, we just had them perscribed for a horse recovering from a horrible injury at the stable.

Equine Somatotrophin...they can't test for it though, since it occurs naturally in the body.

Thanks

It's also called equine growth hormone Sightseek.

IP makes a great version of it.

Mandating a withdrawl time of 28 days for Clenbuteral seems just a little overboard , 7 days could be acceptable, right now as it is Mandella comes off 5 days out from a race so no big deal.
I really havent seen clenbuteral as a muscle builder in horses alltho if a horse is on it for a lung problem I could see how it would make the horse train better and therfore it might build more muscle because its healthier.
I havent seen any horses in our barn crash because they were taken off Clenbuteral but I do know it can and will make some horses tie-up and that if we have one that is on Clenbuteral and it ties up it is taken off of it right away.
I myself have taken Clenbuteral here and there when Ive had mucous in my lungs from a cold or whatever , didnt make me sweat or shake when I took it and I know a few jockeys that have asthma that take it before they ride to help with their air.
To me all theriputic meds have their place and its the cheaters who are going to make it so people cant do right by their horses and thats really a shame.

Really there is no doubt it causes a crash. I imagine if you use it a few times you wouldnt experience that. However, any use of clen over a period of time will cause a crash, infact a lot of guys will take Ephedrine so they dont crash as badly. It is a horrible feeling. I believe a horse who takes clen for more than a week will regress in training for weeks following his withdrawl.

Honu

Did you take the syrup, or the tabs? How much did you take, and how long.

I have personally never had a horse crash from Clembuterol. Have had some get edgy and sweat from it but other than that no problems.

Cannon, have you ever prolonged the usage of clen past a horse having a lung infection? Do you think it is possible that a trainer would give clen to say 20 horses for a prolonged period of time, whether or not they had a lung infection?

I tried it once with a group of horses and found that it did not do much. The horses ran about the same as they did before they were given regular doses. I think it is ironic to talk about the 'steroidal' effect of clembuterol as the reason trainers give regular doses when anabolics themselves have been available. It will help in recovery of a horse with lung problems especially in the spring and fall when the temps change so much. What California is doing is putting a guy with sick horses out of commission for at least a month and putting other horses at risk because you will hesitate to treat them with clembuterol until they are really sick. It is like when you have a cold, if you take something and have a few down days you will feel better quickly and jump right back into your regular routine. With the 28 day rule they are putting you in the position of not being able to treat your horse in the best possible manner without penalty, the penalty being not being able to run for a month or more depending on when the next race is.

I took the syrup and used it for about 7 to 10 days just about like we do with our horses ,like I said it didnt affect me in the sense where I was shaking or "tweeking " , I used about the end of a finger tip as a dose twice a day.
Generally we start our horses off on 3 cc's the first morning and afternoon then increase it to 5 cc twice daily for 7 to 10 days then re-evaluate after that.
I know that when I was training the string of 2 yr olds I would put them on it if they started coughing ( like most babies do when they come to the track the first time) and keep them on it for a week or so and then take them off . If they continued to cough without getting sick the vet would have me give them another 5 days or so and draw a blood chemistry to see what was going on .

A Drug for this,a Drug for that,this drug is for this,This drug is for that.....Do you guys hear yourselves?

What kind of theraputic medications do you use when the horses that you work with get sick ?

Grass and a BIG pasture!!!:D

Well Im sure that helps them alot when they have fevers or lung infections:rolleyes: