[Riot]

I will not argue proven science. This is the basic "hard" science about EIPH and furosemide - meaning this is what has been repeatedly proven beyond any doubt as of 2012:

All horses, of all breeds, that work at hard speed suffer from Exercise-Induced Pulmonary Hemorrhage.

It is not a breed-specific problem (not restricted to only TB or Standardbred) It is not thought to be strongly genetically associated because it is not a bloodline or breed problem, it is a species problem.

Bleeding originates from damage to the capillaries in the alveolar-capillary interface in the lungs (where the lungs pick up oxygen from the air sacs).

The location of damage in the lungs is caudo-dorsal, meaning top-back, and is a bit unusual compared to other species that suffer EIPH (racing greyhound, racing camels, human)

Location of damage and causality currently thought to be most associated with leg-strike induced shockwaves through lung tissue under weight of rider, but multifactorial.

All thoroughbred horses are considered to bleed and suffer varying degrees of EIPH (from microscopic to frank blood from nostrils to rare instant death) proven by examination of thousand of horses.

Thus EIPH is considered ubiquitous for morbidity among TB race horses. All racing horses are considered affected, whether they bleed enough to show blood in trachea or not.

Furosemide is a loop diuretic that decreases the incidence of EIPH in nearly all horses. That efficacy is not solely due to dehydration, but is helped by dehydration, nor is efficacy due to horse weight loss.

Horses that receive furosemide run farther and faster (averaging 3 to 5 lengths) than horses that do not (varies significantly, though, sprint vs long distance, speed of race).

The reason that horses run better on lasix is because their bleeding is measurably decreased, thus the physical obstruction of oxygenating is removed, and their oxygen saturation in their blood is better.

Performance is not improved due to any slight alkalosis, nor slight weight loss, nor any "hop" effect - it is because the horse can breath better. Horses that do not get EIPH from their sport gain zero performance advantage from a shot of lasix.

Thus Lasix is not a 'performance enhancer", it is a therapeutic medication that treats a specific problem inherent in racing horses, racing camels, racing greyhounds, etc.

Lasix can not dilute the urine to mask drugs. It cannot mask NSAIDs or opiates. The timing of drawing blood for drug tests is after the peak after injection of lasix.

We know the pharmacology and toxicology of furosemide in great detail, it has been used for some time in many species for a variety of problems. It is not particularly complicated, nor does it have undiscovered side effects.

The peak effect of lasix is about 1 hour after it is given IV, and then tapers quickly, the effect is virtually gone by race time 3 hours later. The horse is not racing "on" lasix.