[Kasept]

Furosemide Treatment & Racehorse Health and Welfare

Principal Investigator: Amanda Waller, BSc, PhD, research scientist, Center for Clinical and Translational Research, Nationwide Children's Hospital

This study will examine the effects of race-day furosemide treatment on the health and welfare of Thoroughbreds as well as their long-term racing performance. An analysis will be conducted to assess the association between pre-race furosemide administration and fatal injury, while also comparing the performance metrics—including lifetime earnings, career length, lifetime starts, starts per year, placings, and average speed figures—of horses that raced exclusively on furosemide as 2-year-olds and horses that did not receive furosemide for any races during their 2-year-old year.

Effects of Repeated Furosemide Administration

Principal Investigator: Sally Anne L. DeNotta, DVM, PhD, DACVIM, clinical assistant professor, Large Animal Clinical Services, University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine

This study will examine the effects of repeated furosemide administration on electrolyte homeostasis, parathyroid response, and urinary electrolyte excretion in exercising adult Thoroughbreds. The study will also examine the effects of repeated administration on bone density and strength using minimally invasive methods of measurement, including DEXA scan and OsteoProbe.

Furosemide, EIPH & Racing Careers

Principal Investigator: Warwick Bayly, BVSc, PhD, DACVIM, professor, Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Washington State University

This study will examine the impact of severe exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage on horses' careers and the health of the racing industry more broadly. In doing so, the study will assess whether regular furosemide treatment is associated with more career starts and greater longevity and the look at the potential impact of banning furosemide for 2-year-olds on the duration of their careers and number of lifetime starts. The study will also seek to determine the extent to which severe EIPH (exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage) impacts the number of subsequent race starts, the periods between them and, when applicable, the time between the diagnosis of severe EIPH and retirement.