Kentucky committee votes to phase out Lasix
By Matt Hegarty
A committee of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission voted Monday in support of a regulation to phase out the raceday use of the anti-bleeding medication furosemide starting with 2-year-olds in 2013. The new rule, which passed 4-1, will go to the full racing commission, which was scheduled to start a meeting at 1:30.
Under the rule, 2-year-olds will be banned from receiving raceday administrations of furosemide - known by the trade names Lasix or Salix - in 2013. The ban will be extended to 3-year-olds and all stakes races in 2014, and apply to all races in 2015.
The rule also includes a provision allowing the commission to reconsider the rule as of Sept. 1, 2013. Supporters of the new rule said that the provision would allow the committee to support a rollback of the ban if other states do not pass similar rules and the prohibition leads to weaker racing on the Kentucky circuit.
The rule passed despite heavy opposition from trainers. Dale Romans, a longtime Kentucky trainer, was denied permission to speak by the committee's chairman, Tracy Farmer. From a chair in the audience, Romans called the ban "the final nail in the coffin of Kentucky racing."