i read about the findings on bloodhorse. i don't know that he will end up paying anything, after reading what SA's lawyer had to say. but, i did do some further reading and looking about use of that thyroid treatment...that was something baffert gave all his horses, but discontinued that practice after all was said and done, when he had that sudden spike in horse deaths.
and i saw this, in one of the articles that i read:
'The danger is that veterinarians still don't know what the artificial boost to a horse's thyroid could do—especially in the longterm. Blea said that it's difficult to know how much of the drug horses are getting, and whether the amounts trainers are giving can induce unseen symptoms of hyperthyroidism. In humans, hyperthyroidism is associated with increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, cardiac arrhythmia, and, according to one study published in the European Journal of Endrocrinology, a 20 percent higher risk of death.'
of course, toxicology reports showed the baffert horses had nothing illegal in their system. thoraxine isn't illegal. but many use this 'off-label'. the article also discusses people using this along with cobalt treatments...cobalt being in the news a bit lately regarding use in racehorses.
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