Lasix is a thousand times safer than milkshaking. I could give every one of you a lasix injection, and even those of you with kidney and cardiac problems wouldn't get in trouble.
Lasix dilutes the urine. 20-30 years ago, when testing capability was poor, it could dilute out an illegal drug. It hasn't been able to do that for decades. Our testing is too sensitive. So no - lasix doesn't mask drugs. The loop diuretics have extremely well-known pharmacologic actions, and are extremely safe when used therapeutically. They have a rather large margin of safety, especially considering that the race day dose is the low end of the therapeutic dosing range.
Milkshaking? Even if just baking soda and glucose? It doesn't mask a thing either. That's absurd. It's an attempt to alter a horses blood acid-base balance, and it's killed many horses. Sudden death hasn't been uncommon with bad milkshaking. It's very dangerous.
This sport is filled with so much outrightly false nonsense and allegations, it's literally become dangerous to the horses.
Opinion and fact are two very different things, and confusing them kills horses. We can no longer allow old wives tales and falsehoods about drugs in race horses to persist in the 21st century. That some of the biggest names in racing are repeating the falsehoods is sad and dangerous to the sport and the horses.
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"Have the clean racing people run any ads explaining that giving a horse a Starbucks and a chocolate poppyseed muffin for breakfast would likely result in a ten year suspension for the trainer?" - Dr. Andrew Roberts
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