Crist writing about Lasix

[Kasept]

Crist: Reasonable people can disagree about whether the raceday administration of Lasix should be continued, modified or phased out in American racing, but two aspects of the current debate about it simply don’t pass the smell test.

The first is the proposition that Lasix is a major issue in the declining popularity of the sport and a significant factor in the industry’s current business woes. The oft-repeated narrative is that lifelong horseplayers are suddenly so troubled by Lasix, decades after its introduction, that they are deserting the game, and that newcomers who would otherwise be filling the grandstands are staying home because they are so repelled by it.

No sale. Of course if you poll civilians about whether racing (or water polo, or your local crafts fair) would be better off without “performance-enhancing” drugs, they will answer in the affirmative. From personal experience, however, I see no evidence that this translates to Lasix keeping anyone away from racing.

The public is reliably informed which horses (i.e., just about all of them) are getting it, and which ones are getting it for the first time. There are plenty of things that horseplayers are justifiably disgruntled about – high takeout, unappealing races, poor technology, subpar facilities – but raceday Lasix never turns up on the long list of customer complaints.