Amylcar

[Jaguar]

Lurking Bettor, you may find that the University of Pennsylvania's Veterinary College study on the effect of furosemide, etc., on race horse performance is intriguing.

Penn's very thorough and rigorous analysis revealed that Lasix and Bute, have an average performance enhancement value of 10% when administered to race horses.

As well, the study showed that some horse's racing performance is improved by more than 10%, while other horse's do not respond to the drugs.

Prior to the widespread adoption of modern testing methods, owners and trainers- as any old-time handicapper can tell you- ran wild with these drugs, frequently bringing in gate to wire winners which had not raced in many months, leaving disheartened bettors financially ruined, emotionally exhausted, and only physically strong enough to climb up on a high bridge.

Oddly, once Lasix and Bute were discernible, many trainers turned to cocaine derivatives to ensure victory, and- while they sometimes got away with it, the major tracks frequently sent them down for a month or more. In which case- of course- the assistant trainer took over. Yet another example of Racing re-arranging the deck chairs on the titanic.

If all this wasn't bad enough, along came Amylcar, (EPO)- the drug which the Russians and their patsies, the Eastern Europeans used for years on their olympic athletes(in addition to steroids, of course).

Amylcar is metabolized during the course of a race- like a sugar- and is not detectable by current testing methods. The drug is largely used for Allowance, Maiden Special Weight(higher purses), and Stakes events. This is because the veterinarians charge alot for it and they are risking their professional licences, should they be found using the drug.

Once again, Horse Racing shoots itself in the foot, everyone keeps silent, the bettor's are locked in the dark basement of ignorance stumbling around searching for the light switch.

The best article on Lasix, Bute, etc., appeared in the DRF about 5 or 6 years ago and contained excerpts from the Penn study.

The best commentary on Amylcar was printed in American Turf monthly, a year or 2 later.

All the best,

Jaguar

P.S. In an honest world, horses would race and train on hay, oats, and water. The fact that the Racing Establishment has legalized some drugs, while looking the other way at the use of
banned drugs, has hurt horse racing badly. Bettors are being robbed and the casinos are delighted to welcome the wallets of alienated horse players. Is it any wonder that rotten management has caused so many horse tracks to sell to Frank Stronach? At least he runs his tracks like a business. But, horse racing is in such a state that he may yet pave over the ovals, turning the tracks into casinos. Toto, this doesn't look like Kansas.

[so.cal.fan]

Interesting post, Jag.
Does anyone know if any State Racing Commission is looking into this?
Or.....is that a dumb question?
:(

[LurkingBettor]

Jaguar,

Thanks for the reply.....will see if I can come up with some of those reports.

LB

[Derek2U]

That's why i bet only NY tracks .... maybe drugs are here 2,
but with Cornell being so close & the Bigness of racing here,
I think it's at least controlled. EPO can now be tested for &
that's good; and it's been always known that Lasix mimics
a milkshake, but of course, that aspect was denied. Yet, drugs
are here to stay, let's face it, but we MUST demand testing.

[Jaguar]

So.Cal.Fan,

The Horse Racing world is in a quandry and in denial. Like the local police ignoring the illegal immigrants in a community because:

A. The police don't know what to do about it.

B. The police don't have the manpower or budget to handle the situation.

C. No one would support them in an enforcement campaign.

Similarly, the Racing Establishment chooses to ignore the fact that illegal drugs are widely used to enhance race horse performance, because the tracks, the horsemen, and the media
are making a living and don't have a clue as to how to address the situation. No one wants to rock the boat.

After all, who cares, the only people getting hurt are the bettors, particularly the pace handicappers, and we all know that people who bet on horses are suckers, don't we?"

Just another sucker,

Jaguar

P.S. Derek2U made an excellent comment

P.P.S. Still and all, gotta love this game, though.

[PaceAdvantage]

Great discussion here...just one problem...I'd hate to see this buried in the Handicapping Software section where it doesn't really fit....gonna move it to General Handicapping Discussion, since medications are a handicapping factor, like it or not....

[Figman]

Just to straighten things out here, it is amicar (not amlycar). Amicar is "aminocaproic acid" an anti-bleeder medication. It has been used for many years in such racing states as Maryland, Kentucky and Louisiana on raceday. Early this year, Maryland decided it was in the public interest to know of its usage on raceday and now reports it along with salix (furosemide or lasix) usage. Other racing states including Kentucky and Louisiana keep adjunct use as a dark dirty little secret. Amicar is one of four "adjunct bleeder medications" that is allowed to be used in Maryland on raceday. In all probability, Louisiana and Kentucky allow the same four and many more raceday meds.

New York does not allow the use of any medication except furosemide within 24 hours of a race and currently has 11 pending aminocaproic acid post race positives pending. All trainers involved facing fine and/or suspension and fortunately for us thoroughbred fans there are none in NY thoroughbred racing, as they all are in harness racing.

[Figman]

http://www.harnesstracks.com/2002DRF/DRF_May_21_2002.htm

[Whirlaway]

What exactly does "performance enhancement value of 10%" mean? This suggests that a horse who runs 6 furlongs in 1:10 should now do it in 1:03 -- highly unlikely.

My own impression is that, at least here in California, Clenbuterol (and its cousin Abuterol) was the big secret of a lot of the "move up" trainers of the 90's; and now that the drug has been legalized, at least for training purposes, a lot of the move up guys, like Wally Dollase, Brent Sumja, and Ted West, have lost their edge since presumably most of the horses are trained on Clenbuterol now. Bobby Frankel is the only conspicuous move up guy left in California.

I would guess that the high percentage claiming trainers like Bill Spawr and Jerry Hollendorfer acheive their results mostly through the agressive use of (legal) pain killers. They're meat grinders who take a use 'em up and move 'em out approach.

I don't doubt that trainers are experimenting with EPO, but where's the evidence that it works on thoroughbreds? In humans, it's used mostly in endurance athletes: bicycle riders, cross country skiers, distance runners. Thorougbreds are more akin to 400-800 meter runners.

As this (http://www.gladwell.com/2001/2001_08_10_a_drug.htm) article about Olympic doping suggests, it's virtually impossible to catch determined cheaters, so why bother worrying about it?

[Dick Schmidt]

I’ve been hearing about "super drugs" since I got into racing in about 1980. I've also long held the attitude that anyone who believes that drug use is widespread and still bets is nuts. You wouldn't play in a casino if you knew the dealers were cheating, would you? So why do I keep hearing about drugs from horseplayers? Those who actually believe that the outcome of many races is due to drugs should be long gone if they are in any way rational. Same with those who think all jockeys are "stiff" artists.

On the other hand, I neither know or care about who owns, trains or rides the horses I bet. I normally bet the program numbers and don't even look at the horse's names. I do strictly numeric analysis of past performance data and somehow manage to show a nice profit without even considering medications or connections. I've been doing this for a long time, as the "super drugs" come and go. Seems to me that the horses are still running the races, not the pharmacists.

Quick way to find out if a sport is on the level or fixed: try to get a bet down with a bookie. Bookies are the big losers in any fixed game, and they have very good sources of information. If racing was fixed, no one would ever book a horse race, yet casinos and offshore books abound. To test this theory, go into any casino and try to get a bet down on professional wrestling.


Dick

[Jaguar]

Figman, thanks for the correction. I should never type any posts after 10:30 p.m.

Dick Schmidt, thank you for your input, always admired your work over the years.

Summing up, in response to the question: "What difference does it make?", (illegal doping of horses). Let me just mention one circumstance at Aqueduct. This happened 3 years ago.

A certain trainer, well known on the New York/Florida circuit, with a string of 115-head- a trainer who had raced at Aqueduct for many years and is well known in the racing business, applied for stalls at the Aqueduct winter meet.

Aqueduct, which for some time had been alarmed at this man's uncanny, Oscar Barrera-like ability to turn well-used claiming horses into speedball winners at higher purse levels, decided to pull the plug.

Aqueduct denied the trainer barn space, and the conditioner moved the game to a southern track, where his sudden appearance caught the attention of the railbirds, who quickly zipped up their billfolds and said, "Just a minute, I better watch this guy for a while."

Since racing is in the situation we see everyday, with 15-month layoff horses rocketing out of the gate and winning going away,
us bettors are compelled to study a horse's connections as never before.

Maybe handicapping services should give ratings such as this:

"Red Hot Ronnie"- showed little last time out, will probably outgame this field today. **** (4 Syringes)

Nuff said.

All the best,

Jaguar

[Tom]

Originally posted by Dick Schmidt

...To test this theory, go into any casino and try to get a bet down on professional wrestling.

Dick

I got Brock Lesner over the Roc going this weekend <G>
Brock is an overlay at 9-5.

[Tom]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Jaguar
[B]

"Red Hot Ronnie"- showed little last time out, will probably outgame this field today. **** (4 Syringes)

A new rating method! LOL! What's next, the
daily 12V Volt special?

[Jaguar]

Whirlaway, thanks for the update on the California scene.

Your comments were particularly timely because of the New Jersey situation- reported in the racing press the other day, regarding several trainers who could be sent down for as long as a year by the Racing Commission for using(you guessed it) Clenbuterol.

Sadly, just the tip of the iceberg.

The Devil has a foothold in our game and I just hope he doesn't wind up with the whole megillah- (that's "enchilada" for those non-Yiddish language speakers out there).-----Hey, wait a minute, I don't speak Yiddish.

Whirlaway, hope you'll continue to keep us East Coasters informed about racing in your neck of the woods. Santa Anita sure draws some pure"d" 4-legged rockets, I've never seen such speed on other race tracks.

All the best,

Jaguar

[Show Me the Wire]

I believe Clenbuterol use should be sanctioned on race day. Also, in my opinion Kentucky has the best understanding of race day medication and what is best for the horse. I would rather bet Kentucky racing than NY, because in Kentucky it is a level playing field when it comes to race day drug usage.

Regards,
Show Me the Wire

Comparisons are judgments and just as relevent to he who makes them, and to the situation that on which the judgment has been made.

[Jaguar]

Show Me The Wire,

I respect your opinion on this matter and if your reasoning is correct- and we open the floodgates to any and all existing and future chemical enhancements- perhaps it would make sense to appoint Dr. Alex Harthill to the position of National Horse Racing Czar, since he has publicly stated that he believes chemical enhancements are beneficial for race horses.

On the other hand, my reasoning is that racing thrived for 200 years without drugs, and since drugs have been introduced we not only do not have a level playing field because of regulatory discontinuity between the States, even notwithstanding that point- but that we face a future in which - even if drugs were uniformly legal- richer owners and trainers would obtain substances so exotic and expensive that these horsemen would be able to gain an edge over the competition. Once again, the bettors would get the worst of it.

This is the principle of "big money drives out small money", which we see in business everyday(i.e., the Wal-Mart phenomenon and the matter of small-time mobsters selling their Las Vegas Casinos to major corporations.

All the best,

Jaguar

[Jaguar]

Whirlaway, my very brief account of the Penn study conclusions of course did not do justice to the study. I read the study so long ago that I have forgotten the precise details, but I do think my comments captured the basic determinations made.

Obviously the 10% reference is out-of-context, but the study does go into great detail explaining the impact of these chemicals on race horses.

Wish I had a copy of the study, I'd mail it to you.

All the best,

Jaguar

[so.cal.fan]

Show me the Wire:

You are right about Clenbuterol. It's use would only make a more level playing field.
Most trainers I know in So. Cal. use this drug, to train.
Most hold the opinion that it is this drug, that enables them to train horses better off layoffs up to a race.
A good friend tells me that horses she has trained do very well on this drug. They breathe easier, they put on weight easier, they feel better while training.
We watch horses in paddocks everyday. My husband has watched them daily for over 40 years here in Calif. He is a former horseman, and a good judge of condition. He noticed about 12 years ago, that horses were looking better, especially after layoffs, and that some barns had horses who always looked good fresh. Clenbuterol.
I'm sure there are some negatives to this drug's use, but do they out weigh the positive?
SMTW: you would understand this as "balance" the YING and YANG, that controls the whole UNIVERSE, why not horseracing and drugs?;)

[GameTheory]

One primary negative is not mentioned that often, probably because it is long term. Use of these drugs hurts the breed as a whole.

If a horse runs well on a drug(s) and cannot run well (or as well) without it, and is allowed use of these drugs -- what happens? Well, that horse has a better career and consequently is bred more, bringing forth a bunch of offspring that will also likely not do well without the drugs.

If we only breed horses that don't need all these drugs to begin with, we'll have a much hardier breed. But now we're practically breeding drug dependency into the genes of these animals if we expect them to race well...

[so.cal.fan]

That's a good point, GT.
We have seen great race mares, dating back to the 1950's, who have gone on to do NOTHING as broodmares.
Back in those days, steroids was the culprit. It made some of these good mares, look and run like colts, and useless in the breeding shed.

[Jaguar]

Game theory, excellent point.

All the best,

Jaguar