The 2021 stakes races run at Gulfstream Park will be carded Lasix-free, effective Jan. 1, 1/ST RACING announced Friday.
The move to medication-free racing reflects the commitment made in April 2019 by 1/ST, along with other major racing organizations and associations, to eliminate Lasix in all stakes races in 2021 and is consistent with the International Federation of Horse Racing Authorities (IFHA) standards.
Gulfstream Park will be the first racetrack in Florida to move to medication-free racing. The medication-free format for stakes races will apply to the $3-million GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational and the $1- million GI Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational set to take place Jan. 23 as well as the GI Florida Derby and GII Fountain of Youth.
In 2020, the administration of race day Lasix was also banned for 2-year-old horses entered at any of 1/ST RACING's racetracks, including at California's Santa Anita Park and Golden Gate Fields and at Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course in Maryland.
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