NYTHA Lasix Primer & Letter to NYS RWB

[Riot]

By the way: today the Kentucky Racing Commission will try and ban lasix again. They will probably succeed today. Vote this afternoon.

A very sad day for horse racing. Most will be distracted by the post position draw for the Preakness.

[Riot]

I'm hearing conflicting stories on if they are going to try and shove a vote through this afternoon, or not. This story from this morning says not, but the noon news here (Louisville based) and Lex Herald Leader says yes. Kasept, do you know? What do your contacts say?
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Proposed race-day drug ban resurfaces in Kentucky

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) - Kentucky's horse racing regulators were set to reconsider a proposal Wednesday to put the state that proclaims itself the "horse capital of the world'' at the forefront of banning an anti-bleeding drug on race days.

The proposed regulation being presented to the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission would phase out race-day use of the drug furosemide in graded or listed stakes races in the Bluegrass state. It would apply to the Kentucky Derby starting in 2014.

A more sweeping proposed ban - aimed at completely phasing out use of furosemide on race days - failed on a 7-7 roll call vote at a tense commission meeting last month. The commission has since added a new member, Lexington horseman John Phillips.

Both versions would make Kentucky the first state to ban race-day use of furosemide, which is marketed under the brand names Lasix or Salix. The drug is used commonly to treat pulmonary hemorrhaging in racehorses.

The proposed ban remained divisive when it came up for discussion before the Equine Drug Research Council, an advisory group for the Horse Racing Commission. A motion to support the proposed regulation failed on a 3-4 roll call vote. The proposal was on the agenda for the Horse Racing Commission meeting later Wednesday.

The commission was not expected to vote on the new proposal Wednesday. A vote could come at its meeting next month, following an expected public hearing on the issue.

John T. Ward, the commission's executive director, said Lasix has become "the golden shot'' administered when horses race or work out. But he said there's a growing public perception that racehorses are overly medicated.

Ward, a veteran thoroughbred trainer, said the racing industry would adjust to the race-day furosemide prohibition.

"We will develop other protocols that are as good or better for the animal,'' he said. "The only way you can force change is to restrict something. ... We have never looked for the substitute that gives us better coverage than Lasix does.''

Furosemide is the only medication allowed to be given to horses on race day in the United States. Its use is banned in other countries because it enhances performance.

Opponents of the earlier proposal said the race-day ban would saddle Kentucky with a competitive disadvantage that would drive away trainers and horses. Kentucky racetracks already are struggling to keep up with competitors in other states where purse money is bolstered by slot machines and other forms of gambling. Kentucky lawmakers have refused to allow casino-style gambling at the state's racetracks.

Three-time Kentucky Derby winning trainer Bob Baffert told the AP in an interview that the proposed ban would hurt racing and the horses. He said he gives Lasix as a preventative against bleeding.

"Once they bleed, they just keep bleeding and it's hard to really stop,'' he said.

Baffert said the horsemen who have problems with race-day use of Lasix could just stop administering the drug at those times.

But he said a ban on race-day use of the drug would put horses at a disadvantage if they bled.

"You don't know which ones are going to bleed,'' he said.

The new proposal being presented to the horse racing commission would gradually ban the use of furosemide within 24 hours of post time in any graded or stakes races in Kentucky. Those races draw top-notch horses because of the higher purse money offered.

The new version would begin on Jan. 1, 2013, when the ban would apply to 2-year-olds racing in any graded or stakes races in Kentucky. The prohibition would extend to 2- and 3-year-old horses competing in those races in 2014.

The Kentucky Derby, run the first Saturday of May at Churchill Downs in Louisville, is for 3-year-old horses.

Then in 2015, the ban would apply to any horse entered to race in graded or listed stakes races in Kentucky.

The phase-in could reshuffle fields in some horse races in 2014, when the ban would apply to 3-year-olds but not to older horses.

Violations of the race-day drug ban would result in the horse being disqualified and forfeiture of their purse money.

"That is a heavy penalty to pay,'' Ward said. "The owner takes the hit for a lot of money.''

Violating trainers or veterinarians would face license suspensions and fines growing in severity for repeat infractions in a year's time.

Notably missing from the new version was an out-clause that would have the commission review the impact of the race-day ban during the phase-in period. The initial proposal called for a commission review of the ban in 2013.

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/201...#ixzz1v41LTTbk

[Riot]

Per Matt Hegarty Twitter Feed:

Matt Hegarty ‏@DRFHegarty
Vote to table discussion for a year fails 7-4.

1h Matt Hegarty ‏@DRFHegarty
Conway motion amended for ban on discussion of Lasix phaseout to one year; state language removed at Beck's request due to unenforceability.

1h Matt Hegarty ‏@DRFHegarty
Commissioner Tom Conway moves to ban any more discussion over Lasix phaseout for one year unless 4 or more states phase medication out.

1h Matt Hegarty ‏@DRFHegarty
KHRC will hold "town hall" meeting on Lasix phaseout either June 4, 5, or 6, exec. dir. Ward says.

2h Matt Hegarty ‏@DRFHegarty
KDRC vote is non-binding; KHRC is preparing to meet now, but not vote scheduled on Lasix phase-out.

2h Matt Hegarty‏@DRFHegarty
The KY Equine Drug Council has voted 4-3 against a motion to recommend phase-out of furosemide in stakes, according to officials.

Update 3:09pm That appears to be the end of it, because now it's being tweeted they have changed committees and are reviewing Albarado's suspension.

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Excerpts from Matt Hegarty DRF column on todays meeting.

Can't wait to go to the "town hall" meeting Already being talked about, the veterinary community is going to turn out in force to support the health and welfare of the horse in the face of this threat.

05/16/2012 4:21PM
Kentucky commission to hold ‘town hall’ on Lasix
By Matt Hegarty

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission plans to press ahead with a discussion over the possible phase-out of the raceday use of the anti-bleeding medication furosemide in stakes races with a town-hall style meeting in early June.

John Ward, the executive director of the commission, said at a commission meeting on Wednesday that the hearing would take place on June 4, 5, or 6. The hearing will be designed to take input on a proposed rule the commission unveiled on Wednesday that would ban the use of furosemide, commonly known as Lasix, before juvenile stakes races held in ....

“We are very willing to listen to anyone,” Ward said.

The introduction of the proposed rule banning raceday use of furosemide before stakes races followed by one month the rejection of a proposal that would have begun phasing out the raceday use of the drug in all races in 2013. That vote, which was hastily arranged, ended in a 7-7 tie.

Just before the Wednesday meeting, the Kentucky Equine Drug Research Council, an advisory committee to the commission, voted 5-4 to reject a recommendation that the commission approve the phase-out in stakes races, according to officials.

The drug council’s rejection of the motion and the earlier failure of the wider phase-out of furosemide use led several opponents to criticize the commission for continuing to pursue a ban on the drug, which is used to treat bleeding in the lungs and is legal to administer on race day in every racing jurisdiction in North America.

“I don’t understand how this thing keeps coming up,” said Burr Travis, a northern Kentucky lawyer and horse owner who voted against the wider ban last month.

As a result of that criticism, Jack Conway, a horse owner and breeder, offered a motion that would have prohibited the commission from discussing a furosemide ban for one year. It was seconded by Dr. Foster Northrup, a practicing veterinarian, but it failed by a vote of 7-4 after the commission’s chairman, Robert Beck, said that approval of the motion “would send the wrong message.”