I asked one of my trainers this morning about Mepivicaine and about its uses. He said that if a horse tests positive for the drug, there is no doubt that the horse was given a nerve-block. I asked him if there was even a small chance like even a 5% chance that the drug could have been given for something else such as dental work or something else. He said that there is absolutely no chance of that. He said that Mepivicaine is not usd for dental work. Horses are not like humnas when it comes to dental work. They are not given Novacaine or Mepivicaine. Horses are tranqulized when they get dental work done.
You would have to be very gullible to believe that a Mepivicaine positive was the result of dental work since the drug is not used for dental work.
With regards to Asmussen specifically, I have no idea if he knew what was going on or not. When you have that many horses, that many vets, and that many assistant trainers, you can't be involved with every little detail of what is going on with every horse. It is impossible. However, it is the trainer's responsibility to make it very clear to his assistants and his vets what it alright and what is not alright. If you use aggressive vets and give them carte-blanche to do whatever they think is necessary, then this type of thing can happen. Many of these trainers have a sort of "don't ask/don't tell" policy with their vets. They trust their vets to take care of problems and they don't ask them how they do it.
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