‘I’ Is for Inaccuracies


An assistant trainer from England who works on the East Coast disputes my reports on Lasix. John Elliott, however, reached inaccurate, misleading conclusions. When horses get Lasix for the first time, he says, "I feel it has little to do with bleeding."

If it doesn't, I say, there's an awful lot of trainers and veterinarians who are breaking the law. "Bleeding is a very common occurrence," a vet for the state of Florida was quoted in my article. So common that there aren't enough state vets to go around. In order for a horse to receive Lasix, when a state vet isn't in attendance, two private vets must be present when a horse is scoped.

I wrote: "After checking with trainers, veterinarians, handicappers and racing officials, I realize that the increased use of Lasix results from a single key factor: More trainers use the fiber optic endoscope to discover even a tiny amount of blood in the trachea -- a preventative measure."

Says Elliott: "Lasix is a diuretic and makes a horse urinate profusely, disposing of six to eight pounds of fluid, which it would be unlikely to lose naturally in the three- or four-hour period in the build-up to a race. This means every horse on Lasix carries a weight advantage over those not on it."

If his theory is correct, the lighter the horse, not counting assigned weight, the better chance to win. However, most bigger horses have an advantage powerwise. And I'd like to know how many times before a race Elliott has documented a horse's weight minus the amount of fluid lost and later if he determined the winner shed the most fluid. I've kept statistics at several South Florida meetings and found first-time Lasix only accounts for 12 to 14 percent winners. Favorites routinely win one-third of the time.

Says Elliott: "If a trainer runs one (horse) not on the drug, he probably wants someone to think there is improvement to be made in the hope someone might claim it."

Say what? Since the drug is allowed in major racing states such as New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Kentucky, Florida, Texas and California, horses on Lasix in most races outnumber those not on it; the usual exception is unraced or very lightly raced 2-year-olds.

For example, only one of 11 winners on Calder Race Course's Sept. 2 card ran without Lasix -- and that was a maiden juvenile filly dropping in class getting a six-pound assigned weight break.
The copyright of the article ‘I’ Is for Inaccuracies in Horse Racing is owned by Greg Melikov. Permission to republish ‘I’ Is for Inaccuracies in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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