Clenbuterol

The announcement last week that GI Kentucky Derby and GI Breeders' Cup winner and likely Horse of the Year Authentic (Into Mischief) had been retired was disappointing, but very much expected. It would have been nice to see him run another year, but it was never going to happen. From the business side of the sport, there was no other call, not when you have a son of super sire Into Mischief who will stand for $75,000 and likely go to 200-plus mares. Unless there is a seismic shift in...

Beyond the relatively obscure and exotic performance-enhancing drugs allegedly administered to the Thoroughbreds of federally indicted trainers who were charged in March in a years-long doping racket, subsequent testing on the New York contingent of those horses revealed 77% of them had clenbuterol in their systems. And because medical records associated with those Thoroughbreds didn't indicate that drug was administered for its intended purpose (to treat a medically legitimate airway disease), New York State Gaming Commission equine medical director Scott Palmer, VMD, said that the study he conducted on that...

Working in partnership with the Arkansas Racing Commission and the Arkansas HBPA (Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association), Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort has announced, subject to legislative approval, a series of significant proposed safety and integrity enhancements planned for the 2021 racing season. Key provisions include the prohibition of Clenbuterol within 60 days of a race, reduction in the maximum amount of Lasix without specific approval, and the mandatory use of safety whips in races. "We began working on these measures last spring," said Oaklawn President Louis Cella. "We hosted a...

Continuing a decades-long regional effort to enact uniform medication, safety and welfare reforms, protocols and rules, a coalition of 31 regulatory and stakeholder organizations representing all seven states in the Mid-Atlantic region have unanimously agreed to work together to implement a new rule that will significantly restrict the improper use of the bronchodilator clenbuterol. Under the current regional rule, clenbuterol may not be administered to a horse within 14 days of a race, and the concentration of the drug in a post-race blood sample may not exceed 140 picograms/ml. The...

Clenbuterol that is detectable in any amount on race day could be on its way out in 2021 for Thoroughbreds and Standardbreds in Maryland. Maryland Racing Commission (MRC) voted unanimously Oct. 22 to propose a new rule that would eliminate the allowable race-day threshold for clenbuterol, citing concerns that the bronchodilator medication has the potential for abuse as a substance that delivers similar results as anabolic steroids, like promoting an increase in lean muscle mass. Currently, Maryland horses are allowed to trigger up to 140 picograms/milliliter in blood serum on...

New policies on the use of corticosteroids and bronchodilators-including Clenbuterol--for all yearlings, horses in and out of training and unraced 2-year-olds will be introduced at the beginning of the UK and Irish yearling sales from Sept. 1 forward, Tattersalls and Goffs announced on Monday. Starting with the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale, all stock sold at the two sales companies will have these restrictions applied. These new Conditions of Sale will allow buyers to have post-sale testing for corticosteroids and bronchodilators (Clenbuterol). Any positive test or any trace of bronchodilators...

In a settlement agreement and mutual release with the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB), leading California trainer John Sadler has been fined $15,000 and handed a 60-day suspension--45 days of which are stayed--for three medication violations dating from 2019. The suspension runs June 29 through June 13. As part of the agreement, Sadler has been placed on probation for one year, ending June 28, 2021. If he incurs any medication violations during that period, the 45 days of stayed suspension will be imposed following a noticed hearing. As first reported...

Keeneland and Fasig-Tipton are instating new restrictions on the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), corticosteroids and bronchodilators, including Clenbuterol, for all horses sold at sales conducted by the two major Thoroughbred auction houses effective immediately, officials from Keeneland and Fasig-Tipton announced Thursday. These latest reforms are in addition to restrictions put in place earlier this year for 2-year-old sales held at Keeneland and Fasig-Tipton, and follow action in 2009 to ban the use of anabolic steroids in sales horses and last year's ban on the off-label use of bisphosphonates...

The TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland has transitioned to video over the past two weeks as the hosts record the show from home, and this week they welcomed their first video guest, none other than four-time defending Eclipse Award-winning trainer and future Hall of Famer Chad Brown. In a wide-ranging interview that touched on how the pandemic has affected his horses and family, what he looks for at sales, his feelings on clenbuterol, his thoughts on how to help smaller trainers get a foothold and his memories of...

The HBPA of Ontario released a statement Monday speaking out against the abuse of clenbuterol, saying that it has passed a motion "supportive of stopping the abuse of the medication clenbuterol" and is requesting the Canadian Pari-Mutuel Agency and Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario "take immediate action thereupon." The statement comes on the heels of Canadian Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse calling for a ban of the drug last week in the TDN. The statement continued: "We feel that all owners and trainers deserve a level playing field...

Thank you, Mark Casse. It's great when a person of stature and respect in this business takes a stand against a problem infecting our sport. Clenbuterol has long been flying under the radar in its use in Thoroughbreds of all ages. To my understanding, it is not a critical medication and should be abolished. Mark's comments say it all for the racing side. As for its use in sales prep for weanlings and yearlings, there is absolutely no place for it. I have heard the stories of people using and...

Two days after writing an Op-Ed for the TDN calling for a ban of Clenbuterol, trainer Mark Casse continued his campaign against the use of the drug in the Thoroughbred racing industry when appearing as the Green Group Guest of the Week on this week's TDN Writers' Room podcast. The Writers' Room podcast is sponsored by Keeneland. Casse said he believed that numerous trainers are abusing Clenbuterol because it can act like a steroid and is therefore a performance-enhancing drug.  He called trainers that abuse Clenbuterol the "Lance Armstrongs of...