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HISA: Furosemide Advisory Committee To Oversee Three-Year Study On Anti-Bleeding Medication

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by HISA Communications

 

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) has announced the members of an Advisory Committee which has been convened to oversee a three-year study on the use of furosemide (also known as “Lasix”) on horses during the 48-hour period before the start of a Covered Horserace, including the effect on equine health and the integrity of competition.

The establishment of this Advisory Committee for the study of furosemide administration and the requirements of the study are specifically mandated and set forth in the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act. The HISA Board of Directors delegated its authority to select the Advisory Committee members to HISA’s Anti-Doping and Medication Control Committee who did so based on the members’ relevant expertise. The Advisory Committee will oversee the process of issuing a Request for Proposal to conduct the research, reviewing grant applications from academic researchers and allocating grant funding for the study.

When the independent scientific research has been completed and published, it will be presented to the Advisory Committee who will then relay the findings and their recommendations to the HISA Board of Directors.

The Furosemide Advisory Committee is comprised of the following members:

Dr. Emma Adam, DVM, Ph.D., is a veterinarian with over 24 years of racing experience in the United States, United Kingdom, France and Australia. She is board-certified in equine medicine from Texas A&M University and in surgery from the New Bolton Center at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Adam also received her Ph.D. in musculoskeletal science from the University of Kentucky’s Gluck Equine Research Center.

Alan Foreman is Chairman of the Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association (THA) and Vice- Chairman of the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium (RMTC). Foreman is considered one of the leading racing law and equine attorneys in the United States and is an expert on medications used in horse racing.

Dr. Scott Hay, DVM, is a veterinarian at Teigland, Franklin and Brokken, where he focuses on lameness, performance evaluations and purchase examinations. He also serves on the RMTC’s Scientific Advisory Committee. Dr. Hay previously served as President of the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) and as a member of the Grayson-Jockey Club’s Scientific Advisory Committee.

Dr. Ted Hill, VMD, is a racing steward for the Jockey Club with more than 23 years of experience. He previously served as Chief Veterinarian for the New York Racing Association (NYRA). Dr. Hill received his VMD from the University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Rob Holland, DVM, Ph.D., is a respiratory and infectious disease specialist in Lexington, Kentucky and partner at Holland Management Services, Inc., a consulting practice offering solutions in outcomes research and veterinary medicine. Dr. Holland has worked with the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) and is an expert in equine drug testing processes.

Dr. Heather Knych, DVM, Ph.D., DACVCP, is a Professor of Clinical Veterinary Pharmacology and Head of the Pharmacology Section at the K.L. Maddy Equine Analytical Chemistry Pharmacology Laboratory at the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of California, Davis. Dr. Kynch is board-certified in Clinical Veterinary Pharmacology and has an extensive publication record in the areas of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. She received her DVM and Ph.D. in Pharmacology and Toxicology from the University of California, Davis, where she also conducted her residency in Veterinary Pharmacology.

Ryan Murphy is the Executive Director for the Partnership for Clean Competition (PCC), the leading anti-doping research organization dedicated to the protection of clean athletes. Prior to joining the PCC, Murphy served as Program Officer with the Sports Diplomacy division at the U.S. Department of State and prior to that as Senior Manager for Sport & Competition for Special Olympics International. Murphy has also worked as an International Doping Control Officer for International Doping Tests & Management. In addition to his work at the PCC, Murphy serves as an Adjunct Professor for the Sports Industry Management Master’s program at Georgetown University.

Dr. Foster Northrop, DVM, is a practicing racetrack veterinarian with more than 35 years of industry experience. He has served on the boards of the KHRC and American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), as well as the RMTC’s Scientific Advisory Committee.

Dr. Scott Palmer, VMD, is a former President of the AAEP and the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners (ABVP). He also chaired the New York Task Force for Racehorse Health and Safety from 2011 to 2013 and served as a clinician and referral surgeon at the New Jersey Equine Clinic for 38 years. He is currently a member of the RMTC’s Scientific Advisory Committee, the Horseracing Testing Laboratory Committee, the Association of Racing Commissioners International’s (ARCI) Drug Testing and Standards Committee and the ARCI’s Equine Welfare and Veterinarians Committee.

Dr. N. Edward Robinson, BVetMed, Ph.D., is a nationally recognized veterinarian, academic and researcher who spent nearly 50 years at Michigan State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, during which he spent more than 20 years as the Matilda R. Wilson Professor of Large Animal Clinical Sciences. Dr. Robinson has spent his career researching lung disease in horses. He received his veterinary degree from the Royal Veterinary College in London and a Ph.D. from University of California, Davis.

Dr. Corinne Sweeney, DVM (HIWU Appointment), is an American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM) specialist and has spent the past 44 years at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. She has served as a member of the Pennsylvania State Horse Racing Commission since 2008 and previously served as Chair of the ARCI in 2019. She is a certified Organizational Ombuds Practitioner and has served as the Penn Vet Ombuds since 2015.

About the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority

When the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act was signed into federal law, it charged the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) with drafting and enforcing uniform safety and integrity rules in Thoroughbred racing in the U.S. Overseen by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), HISA is implementing, for the first time, a national, uniform set of rules applicable to every Thoroughbred racing participant and racetrack facility. HISA is comprised of two programs: the Racetrack Safety Program, which went into effect on July 1, 2022, and the Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Program, which went into effect on May 22, 2023.

The Racetrack Safety Program includes operational safety rules and national racetrack accreditation standards that seek to enhance equine welfare and minimize equine and jockey injury. The Program expands veterinary oversight, imposes surface maintenance and testing requirements, enhances jockey safety, regulates riding crop use and implements voided claim rules, among other important measures.

The ADMC Program includes a centralized testing and results management process and applies uniform penalties for violations efficiently and consistently across the United States. These rules and enforcement mechanisms are administered by an independent agency, the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU), established by Drug Free Sport International (DFS). HIWU oversees testing, educates stakeholders on the Program, accredits laboratories, investigates potential ADMC violations and prosecutes any such violations.

New Study Finds Horses Racing On Lasix At 62 Percent Increased Risk Of Sudden Death

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by Paulick Report Staff

 

A new study of data from the Equine Injury Database has revealed that horses medicated with furosemide (Lasix) on race day were at 62 percent increased odds of sudden death compared to horses that were not racing on furosemide.

Funded by the Grayson Jockey Club Foundation, the study was published by Dr. Euan Bennet and Dr. Tim Parkin on Oct. 20, 2022, in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. It examined the 4,198,073 race starts made by 284,387 Thoroughbred horses at 144 racetracks in the United States and Canada between 2009 and 2021; those numbers represent 92.2 percent of all official race starts during that period.

Of those nearly 4.2 million starts, 536 resulted in a horse’s sudden death, an incidence rate of 0.13/1,000 starts. Sudden death was defined as any horse that was recorded as a fatality within three days of racing, along with one or more of the following fatal injury descriptions or (presumptive) diagnosis, as provided by each participating track to the EID: (1) sudden death (recorded as “SUD” in the EID), (2) pulmonary hemorrhage, (3) exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage (EIPH), (4) postexertional distress/heatstroke (PED), and (5) cardiac arrhythmia.

 

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Lasix Mythbusters: Drug Masking, TCO2, And Impact On Racehorse Breakdowns

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by Natalie Voss

 

For decades now, people with an interest in horse racing have had opinions about furosemide, commonly referred to by its trade name of Lasix or Salix. Even now, as its use has been gradually pushed back farther from race time, theories abound on why trainers use it, and how (or whether) it should be used.

But floating about amongst all those opinions are sometimes misconceptions, including one we’ve heard repeatedly at the Paulick Report – that furosemide is used as a masking agent to cover up illegal drug use in post-race testing.

Dr. Rick Sams, former laboratory director at LGC Science, said that under current regulations, that just isn’t possible. Here’s why.

 

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Arkansas Commission Approves Rule Changes On Clenbuterol, Lasix

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During its regularly scheduled meeting on Thursday, Dec. 10, the Arkansas Racing Commission approved 16 rule changes originally proposed by Oaklawn Park and the Arkansas HBPA, reports the Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette. Key provisions include the prohibition of Clenbuterol (and other beta2-agonists) within 60 days of a race, reduction in the maximum amount of Lasix without specific veterinary approval, and the mandatory use of safety whips in races.

The Clenbuterol regulations will be confirmed through hair testing, and will also provide for claimed horses to be tested for the bronchodilator, with the ability to void a claim if the claimed horse tests positive.

Lasix administration has been cut by 50 percent, to 250 milligrams, unless the official veterinarian approves a dose up to 500 milligrams. Since the Road to the Kentucky Derby and the Road to the Kentucky Oaks will not award points to horses racing on Lasix, the commission will prohibit the use of Lasix in any 3-year-old stakes race awarding points. These include: the Smarty Jones, Southwest (G3), Rebel (G2), Arkansas Derby (G1), Martha Washington, Honeybee (G3), and Fantasy (G3).

 

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Keeneland and Churchill Downs Reinforce Commitment to Safety with Racing and Training Reforms

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Darren Rogers, Churchill Downs Communications

Keeneland and Churchill Downs today jointly announced major changes in racing and training policies to strengthen safety protocols at both race tracks. Reforms include mandatory veterinary inspections prior to workouts and race entry and enhanced reporting and transparency requirements for trainers and attending veterinarians with regard to the fitness of horses to work and race.

These reforms also apply to horses stabled at Keeneland’s The Thoroughbred Center in Lexington and the Churchill Downs Training Center in Louisville.

In a significant step to promote integrity in racing, 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. Kentucky’s Thoroughbred race tracks supported sweeping medication reforms, including the Lasix ban, adopted by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) in late 2019.

Keeneland President and CEO Bill Thomason and Churchill Downs Racetrack President Kevin Flanery said in a joint statement: “These meaningful reforms further advance our commitment to create the safest possible environment for racing and training. Race tracks, horsemen and the veterinary community share a responsibility for the welfare of our human and equine athletes and to promote the sport for generations of fans to come.”

Changes will become effective with the opening of the stable areas at Keeneland and Churchill Downs. Trainers and attending veterinarians must agree to the following conditions in order to participate in the racing programs at either track:

A trainer is not permitted to enter a horse in any race unless the horse has been found fit to race by the attending veterinarian during the three days immediately prior to entry, and

A trainer is not permitted to work a horse unless the horse has been found fit to work by the attending veterinarian during the five days immediately before the work.

Trainers and attending veterinarians are obligated to inform the equine medical director at the appropriate race track and the KHRC of any changes in a horse’s fitness after an examination has been conducted.

Additionally, all horses at Keeneland and Churchill Downs will be subject to veterinary inspections by the tracks’ respective equine medical directors and to veterinary monitoring.

More Than 600 Stakeholders from Across the Racing Industry Sign Public Letter In Support of Protecting Lasix as a Choice on Race-Day

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LEXINGTON, KY (Friday, Sept. 20, 2019) – A unified industry group believes banning Lasix will adversely impact the health and welfare of racehorses, as well as the strength of our industry. Today, a letter (posted below) was released with more than 600 signatures in support of protecting Lasix as a choice for horsemen and veterinarians to administer on race-day for the well-being of equine and human athletes. The initial round of signatures from racing stakeholders features individuals from across the industry. Signatures will continue to be collected going forward. Click here to be added to the list.

Public Letter on Stance to NOT Eliminate the Choice to Administer Lasix on Race Day

A recent open letter proclaimed that “horse racing is at a pivotal moment in its long history in the United States.” On this we agree. We also agree all of us love and cherish the equine athletes upon which our industry is built. To that end we believe in practicing the highest standards of horsemanship, and we continually work to improve the care, health and safety of our thoroughbred racehorses.

In that regard, we support horsemen and our veterinarians having the continued option to run a horse with a race-day administration of the therapeutic and protective medication furosemide (Lasix).

We, too, are ready for change and will eagerly embrace change if the alterations are done for the greater good of equine health and welfare. We are committed to reforms emphasizing transparency and developments that will address misunderstandings from those in the non-racing public as well as ensuring our horses are treated with the highest degree of care. The eradication of our choice to administer race-day Lasix will not do any of those things.

It is our belief that banning Lasix will adversely impact the health and welfare of our racehorses as well as the strength of our industry. Research also proves an increased number of horses will bleed significantly out of their nostrils, or into in their lungs, and an increased number will die.

We understand and agree things can and should be done to improve the safety and welfare of our equine athletes. It is just as important to understand what is NOT causing catastrophic injuries, as it is understanding the underlying causes. Many continue to claim Lasix will interfere with post-race drug testing due to dilution, but this argument has long been disproven. Lasix is a short-acting diuretic and the dilution effect is gone in two hours. However, the tightly regulated administration of Lasix is required four hours before a race. Thus, Lasix has no ability to interfere with blood or urine testing after a race.

No one takes our stance on this position casually, but we believe we must not be led down a path created by perception and not facts. For this reason we must stand for what is in the best interest and safety for our equine and human athletes.

This letter includes an initial round of over 600 signatures from racing stakeholders and signatures will continue to be collected going forward. Click here to be added to the list.

Signatures include the following: Rusty Arnold; Steve Asmussen; Buff Bradley; Bret Calhoun; Anita and James Cauley; Dr. Nancy Cole; Brad Cox; Boyd Caster; Wayne Catalano, Jake Delhomme; Michael Ann Ewing; Greg Foley; Vickie Foley; Tim Glyshaw; Larry Jones; Dallas Keen; Marshall Gramm; Dr. Chuck Kidder; Mike and Penny Lauer; Mike Maker; Ron Moquett; Randy Morse; Maggi Moss; Loren Hebel Osborne; Joe Orseno; Joel Politi; Allen Poindexter; Louis J. Roussel III; Clay Sanders; Chester Thomas; Mike Tomlinson; Tom Van Berg; Kelly Von Hemel; Gary and Mary West; Ian Wilkes; Jack Wolf; Erv Woolsey.

The entire list may be viewed as a PDF file and can also be found at this link (list updated as of 9/20/19):

National HBPA Opposes Senate Introduction of the Horseracing Integrity Act (S. 1820)

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The National Horseman’s Benevolent and Protective Association (HBPA) announces its opposition to the Senate version of the Horseracing Integrity Act (S. 1820), introduced last week by Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Martha McSally (R-AZ). On behalf of Thoroughbred race horse owners and trainers, the HBPA has been steadfast in its opposition to the House companion measure introduced earlier this year by Reps. Paul Tonko (D-NY-20) and Andy Barr (R-KY-06) (H.R. 1754).

“Senator Gillibrand and Senator McSally have clearly been misguided. Banning race day Lasix will cause more equine deaths, and additional regulations will cause jobs to be lost,” stated Eric Hamelback, CEO of the HBPA.

The HBPA fully supports the veterinary community and the science on which they base their opinions. Under S. 1820, owners, trainers, and veterinarians would no longer have the choice to utilize the therapeutic, legal medication furosemide, more commonly known as Lasix. Lasix is used in horses to control or prevent Exercise Induced Pulmonary Hemorrhages (EIPH), or “bleeding” and has been used safely and humanely for the last 40 years in American horse racing. Horses often experience EIPH episodes during intense exercise, such as during races. Current industry policy endorses and strictly regulates the use of this medication on race day because it is in the best interests of the health and welfare of the horse.

“If Lasix is completely banned the number of fatalities on race tracks throughout the country will increase. While we are committed to finding answers that will prevent, reduce, and solve the occurrence of any fatality for our thoroughbred athletes, this bill is NOT the answer.” said Hamelback.

Also, the HBPA has deep concerns about the additional fees and costs that S. 1820 would place on those in the horse racing industry. For the smaller industry folks, these new fees will be the tipping point that pushes them out of the business. While wealthy owners may not feel the pinch, rural and agrarian jobs will be lost, and lives will be devastated. This loss of income will have a rippling effect on state and local economies that depend on the industry.

Hamelback believes the introduction of this legislation is a misguided attempt to address the recent equine deaths in California: “S. 1820 would not have prevented one single death. My members are as concerned as any about the recent tragedies in California, and we agree more independent research needs to be done to discover the cause of these deaths. However, implying that the racing industry is rampant with doping and that this legislation is the solution is completely wrongheaded.”

The HBPA strongly opposes the Horseracing Integrity Act and encourages industry participants to voice their opposition by contacting their representatives in Congress.

Thoroughbred Idea Foundation: Calling for a Racing Industry Compromise

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The sport which brings us together is at a turning point. We have been divided for far too long on a variety of issues that impact our business. Most notably, the “Lasix debate” has been a debilitating one, inhibiting our collective ability to move ahead. The time has come for the industry to compromise – working together with all major constituencies to establish a mutually-agreed, new way forward.

The recent announcement from a coalition of racetracks to introduce changes to their house Lasix policies was met with a series of statements from certain stakeholder groups restating their long-held positions. Compromise is essential. Absent a compromise, binding mediation should be considered.

“In my many years in this great sport, I have never seen racing more at risk than it is right now,” says B. Wayne Hughes, owner of Spendthrift Farm. “We have far too much at stake to continue being tied down in separate bunkers and not finding a way forward. The time for a compromise is now.”

As major stakeholders, we believe the only way to grow revenue for the industry’s obligations – among them, aftercare and backstretch programs, equine research, jockey insurance and prize money – is through the growth of the sport’s overall “pie.” If our industry can collectively agree to compromise, we can finally move ahead together and address other meaningful issues that have inhibited growth in the sport for far too long.

While racing has some long-standing traditions which have shaped our collective experience, nothing is set in stone. Let’s embrace that freedom to redefine the future.

Our sport has recently been challenged in a manner that requires bold, serious and innovative action. But the longer-term reality should not be ignored, either. Foal crops are at 50-year lows. Handle is down close to 50%, adjusted for inflation, over just 15 years. Though tougher to measure, the social license racing enjoys is also questioned now more than at any point in recorded history. We must adapt to this, better exhibiting to the world – not just ourselves – the outstanding care our horses receive, and their majestic, innate desire to compete.

We must unite and emerge stronger – for the horses, for our passion, for the future.

Since our organization’s launch last summer, we’ve presented four substantive white papers tackling topics related to improving our sport’s approach to pricing, transparency, product development and access to information. Now is the time to present a fresh approach to racing. We have enlisted five industry leaders to present their take on improving different segments of racing through new approaches to long-stagnant “offices.” Their ideas will be released over the next two days.

– Wagering and Innovation: Marshall Gramm (chair of Rhodes College economics department, co-founder of Ten Strike Racing)

– Racing Administration and Planning: Rick Hammerle (long-time racing official, including 20 years at Santa Anita as racing secretary and vice president of racing).

– Integrity and Welfare: Maggi Moss (attorney, major horse owner, leading aftercare advocate)

– Communications and Marketing: John Sikura (president of Hill ‘n’ Dale Farm)

– Owners’ Services and Recruitment: Brad Weisbord (founder of BSW Bloodstock, ELiTE Sales)

Presented with an opportunity to re-shape our industry and mindful of our precarious position, these suggestions should be met with open minds. Our interest in a healthy thoroughbred industry is shared. The process to achieve these much-needed improvements remains rooted in compromise, with all stakeholders understanding that once-entrenched opinions must be loosened in order to establish a modern sport.

In the recently-published words of billionaire investor and philanthropist Ray Dalio, “collective decision making works much better than fragmented individual decision making so I urge you to understand it and employ it. If you don’t, you will be left behind.” Our future, as projected by five industry leaders, could be so much brighter than our past if we can collectively move beyond that which has divided us for so long and work together. Join us in this quest!

Industry Reaction To Racetrack Coalition’s Proposed Partial Phase-Out Of Lasix

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by

 

Reaction was mixed to the announcement on Thursday by a coalition of U.S. racetracks to partially phase out race-day administration of the anti-bleeding diuretic furosemide (Lasix), beginning with 2-year-olds racing in 2020 and in stakes races beginning in 2021.

Those supporting the initiative include all tracks owned or operated by Churchill Downs Incorporated (CDI), the New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) and The Stronach Group as well as Del Mar, Keeneland, Lone Star Park and Remington Park, Los Alamitos Racecourse (Thoroughbreds), Oaklawn Park and Tampa Bay Downs. Breeders’ Cup Limited, the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders’ Association (TOBA) and its American Graded Stakes Committee and the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association also signed on in support of the proposal.

 

To Read Paulick Report Article

Racetrack Coalition Moves Toward Lasix Ban in Stakes

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Fair Grounds among Twenty Racetracks Committed to Ending Race-day Lasix in stakes in 2021.

 

A coalition of leading Thoroughbred racing associations and organizations announced April 18 a new initiative committed to phasing out the use of the medication furosemide (Salix, commonly called Lasix) beginning in 2020 and eliminating the use of Lasix in stakes races at their tracks beginning in 2021.

Coalition racetracks that have signed on to this initiative include all tracks owned or operated by Churchill Downs Inc., the New York Racing Association and The Stronach Group as well as Del Mar, Keeneland, Lone Star Park, Remington Park, Los Alamitos Racecourse (Thoroughbred meets), Oaklawn Park, and Tampa Bay Downs. Taken together these tracks represent 86% of the stakes races assigned graded or listed status in the United States in 2018. The coalition tracks will work diligently with their respective horsemen’s associations and racing commissions toward implementing this effort.

To Read BloodHorse Article

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