Lasix

The past two years Allied Racing LLC has achieved our dreams of competing at horse racing's top level, headed by my first multiple graded-stakes winner and Kentucky Derby runner By My Standards and multiple graded winner Mr. Money. I'd hoped it was just the start of being in the top ranks of the sport we love dearly. But even as my wife and I ride this incredible wave, we plan to significantly downsize our stable. Why? Because of the movement to phase out the medication Lasix, a diuretic also used...

The Jockey Club, the Breeders' Cup and the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association have filed Amicus Curiae briefs supporting the rights of Churchill Downs and Keeneland to prohibit Lasix in races for 2-year-olds. The two Kentucky tracks are being sued by the Kentucky Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association, which is seeking a temporary injunction that would stop the tracks from instituting so-called house rules that cover the Lasix ban. The three groups have asked the court to deny the injunction. The news of the filing of the briefs by the industry groups...

Though he won one of two races for 2-year-olds held last week at Churchill Downs, trainer John Hancock had hoped to do better. A day after the filly Hopeful Princess (Not This Time) broke her maiden, stablemate Cuz (Ironicus) finished seventh in a maiden race for juvenile colts. Hancock said he believes the reason Cuz didn't fare better was because he was, under new rules in place at Churchill, not allowed to run on Lasix. "[Cuz] is an exceptionably nice colt," Hancock said. "We scoped him and he showed signs...

The Kentucky Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (KHBPA) filed a lawsuit in Franklin County Circuit Court May 15 to stop the planned Lasix phase-out in the state. Natalie Voss of the Paulick Report first reported the news on Thursday. The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, Keeneland Association, and Churchill Downs, Inc., are the defendants. "The KHBPA and its members will be harmed if Keeneland's and Churchill's illegal acts are allowed to go forward, as it will impact the conduct of races that horses owned and trained by its members may participate...

The New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) teleconference meeting Tuesday resulted in the adoption of four new Thoroughbred-related rules and the proposal of two others. Even though it was the NYSGC's first meeting since the COVID-19 crisis halted the state's racing industry in March, the five commissioners who participated did not discuss the pandemic or any aspect of return-to-racing plans for New York tracks. The only time the coronavirus got an oblique mention was during the reading into the record of a proposed emergency rule regarding changing qualifying race requirements...

Thoroughbred Idea Foundation executive director Pat Cummings joined the TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland Wednesday to discuss a wide-ranging assortment of macro issues the sport is facing, and how it can be more efficient post-pandemic. Calling in via Zoom as the Green Group Guest of the Week, Cummings was asked about last week's #FreeDataFriday white paper posted by the TIF, in which he focused on the shockingly small percentage of purse money that is derived from wagering dollars. "It's been happening like this for a very long time...

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Veterinary Medicine are launching a novel study exploring possible effects resulting from the combined use of furosemide, commonly known as Lasix, and bisphosphonates in equine athletes. Led by Dr. Mary Robinson, assistant professor of veterinary pharmacology and director of the Equine Pharmacology Laboratory at Penn Vet's New Bolton Center, the study is poised to be the first comprehensive analysis of the two drugs that, when used concurrently, could be capable of diminishing bone integrity and compromising cardiac function in racehorses. "The beauty...

The New York Racing Association, Inc. will prohibit the use of Furosemide (Lasix) within 48 hours of racing for all 2-year-olds with the start of juvenile racing in April at Aqueduct Racetrack. The initiative will begin this year, with NYRA prohibiting Lasix in all 2-year-old races at all three NYRA tracks across Aqueduct, Belmont Park and Saratoga Race Course. Beginning in 2021, the same prohibition will extend to all horses participating in stakes races at NYRA tracks. Following the launch of this program in 2-year-old maiden special weight races in...

A conference call among a variety of California industry stakeholders Tuesday brought further clarity to a state-wide California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) rule change, which went into effect Mar. 1, concerning what can be administered to a horse after the time it has been entered to race. The rule changes--which the CHRB adopted on an emergency basis in January, then formally approved Feb. 20--had caused confusion and concern among certain trainers about how it would impact their training programs. Tuesday's conference call brought clarity to two of the main sticking...

Keeneland and Churchill Downs will ban the race-day use of Lasix in all 2-year-old races under the International Medication Protocol authority granted in 810 KAR 8:050 of the Kentucky Administrative Regulations beginning with Keeneland's 2020 Spring Meet and following at Churchill Downs Racetrack's 2020 Spring Meet, according to a joint press release Thursday. Kentucky's Thoroughbred race tracks supported sweeping medication reforms, including the Lasix ban, adopted by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) in late 2019. The tracks also jointly announced major changes in racing and training policies to strengthen...

Gulfstream's Mike Lakow joins the TDN Writers on the podcast to talk about the upcoming Pegasus Stakes and the rest of the Gulfstream meeting. Lasix, safety, Thoroughbred retirement and more on this week's TDN podcast.