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Old 03-20-2019, 11:39 AM   #16
drib
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Originally Posted by Fager Fan View Post
That’s true everywhere all the time.

This article affirms my concerns. Key quotes: "A new investigative development for 2018: Scollay said bone chips from deceased horses were sent to a laboratory for analysis, where she hopes scientists will discover whether the horses had been given bisphosphonates."....."Veterinarians don't know exactly how long the drug lives on bone surfaces, but it's thought to linger for months. It does not live in the blood very long however, which means there's a limited window of detection for regulators. Scollay does not yet know whether last year's fatal breakdowns had bisphosphonates in their systems."
Anyone who has followed racing for many years knows the instinct of those in charge is to cover things up. Going way back, I can remember Oscar Barrerra going from genius to 0/150 with nothing said. Most recently, the intrepid Bloodhorse reporter Jeremy Balan who was all over the SA breakdown story first disappeared, and then was fired. Now, with the absence of writers like Andy Beyer, and Steve Crist, there is pretty much nobody in thoroughbred journalism to fearlessly deal with this kind of issue. Racing's problem now is that they cannot ignore the epidemic of horse deaths (the death rate in Ky almost doubled last year, with more younger horses).
I am puzzled that Ky Equine Medical Director Dr. Mary Scollay says that bone chips have been sent for bisphosphonate testing, but results are not known. These deaths were spread out over the entire year. Have they sent the chips for analysis by slow boat to China? Come on, there must be preliminary results, unless the drug is incredibly difficult to detect. Should that be true, how many trainers will (or most probably already have) use an undetectable pain reliever?
I am trying to be cautious, but bisphosphonate use has ominous implications beyond the possible increased breakdown risk to in training horses. Should a full report reveal rampant use at baby sales, the entire thoroughbred auction industry (centered, of course, in Ky....what a coincidence that Scollay is in the same state) would be in jeopardy. Why buy young horses that might have an undetectable time bomb in their bones?
A second issue is what does racing do if tests reveal bisphosphonates in the dead horses? What can be done if a significant # of horses have this ticking timebomb? No wonder the results of bone chip analysis are taking so long.
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Old 03-20-2019, 11:44 AM   #17
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Jeremy Balan was The Blood-Horse reporter assigned to cover Santa Anita. He had a reputation for writing the truth. About the same time news of the situation at Santa Anita began to garner national attention, his Blood-Horse Twitter account went silent. A few days later he announced that he had resigned. (Read into that what you will.)

When reporters from the Associated Press began writing about the situation at Santa Anita, they wrote about microfractures.

APNews.com | By PAUL NEWBERRY | Friday March 8, 2019
Column: Horse racing needs to clean up its act _ or go away:
https://apnews.com/ecd8fa29fdfd4da68...ign=SocialFlow

Quote:
"These are orthopedic failures, not single-step failures. The horse didn’t step in a hole. The horse didn’t take a bad step," she said. "If you bend a paper clip back and forth 200 times, then put it back in shape so it looks brand new and hand to me, the next time I bend it, it might come apart in two pieces even though I insist I did not bend it hard. That’s how these fractures occur."

It starts with a microfracture. Then a small, partial fracture. Finally, in the heat of a big race or perhaps just a light training session, the bone shatters.

It seems sudden, a fluke.

Most likely, it’s not.

"This is really just the normal physiological consequence of an increasing workload," Lyons said. "Take a human runner. Most runners know that when they increase their distances and then say, ‘Boy, my shins were killing me last night after a run,’ that they need to back off for the next week. They need to let it heal. What they do with horses is give them anti-inflammatories without a diagnosis, then keep training and racing."

Lyons said new technology is being developed that would allow a CT scan to be performed in a matter of minutes on a horse’s front and rear legs, which could be a revolutionary step forward in equine medical care. But the industry must be willing to pay for the machines, which are expected to cost about $300,000 apiece. Also, there must be enforcement in place to ensure that when a potential problem is discovered, the horse is kept off the track until fully healed."

To the best of my knowledge, none of the so called racing journalists covering the situation at Santa Anita have even mentioned the word microfracture.

If I am wrong about that: Somebody please jump in and correct me.

In my opinion, racing would be much more widely accepted by the public in the long run if its decision makers championed transparency and actual journalism. (As opposed to sweeping things under the rug.)


I've done some digging on my own. I began by using Google to search for phrases like "microfracture" and "thoroughbred" (without the quotes) and went from there.

I discovered there's a LOT of information that exists on the topic.

The CHRB has been performing necropsies on horses suffering fatal breakdowns in California for years. Link to their 2014-2015 report here:
http://www.chrb.ca.gov/veterinary_re...ual_report.pdf


I also came across a subtopic that caught my eye - a class of drug called bisphosphonates.

Bisphosphonates are primarily used to promote increased bone density in human osteoporosis patients.

Bisphosphonates have also been used as a therapeutic in thoroughbreds.

It turns out that bisphosphonates have a side effect in thoroughbreds.

In layman's terms, the new bone material that bisphosphonates promotes looks solid on x-rays and radiographs - but is actually weaker than bone material that grows naturally if you simply give the horse time off to heal.

I was able to determine that at least two vets had been using bisphosphonates on the Santa Anita backside.

In 2017, the CHRB's Medical Director, Dr. Rick Arthur, gave an alarming quote when interviewed in an article about bisphosphonates.

Daniel Ross | October 03, 2017 |
The bone disease treatment drugs that may be putting young horses at risk:
https://www.thoroughbredracing.com/a...g-horses-risk/

Quote:
This has the effect of making the diagnosis of brewing bone conditions hard to do with things like x-ray machines, for the dead bone material can give the impression of everything appearing okay, said Rick Arthur, California Horse Racing Board equine medical director.

“The concern is bisphosphonates make bone look good on radiographs,” he said. “When in fact, the bone is weakened.”

In 2018, Dr. Larry Bramlage (Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital) gave the following quote when interviewed in an article about bisphosphonates.

by Natalie Voss | 03.01.2018 | 5:13pm
Bramlage: ‘Price To Pay’ For Bisphosphonate Use Is Delayed Healing:
https://www.paulickreport.com/horse-...layed-healing/

Quote:
“I've spent 40 years looking at horses' bones trying to understand the process of damage and repair that we consistently deal with in the racehorse. In the last two years we've had horses' injuries that don't behave anything like they did in my first 40 years,” he said. “We can no longer depend on the repair process that we have come to expect as normal for the horse. Bisphosphonates also 'mute' the normal bone turnover we depend on in bone scans.”

Pyschotic Parakeet posted a chart showing that 6 of the 22 horses suffering fatal breakdowns at Santa Anita had recently raced on a sealed track surface. Link here: http://www.paceadvantage.com/forum/s...&postcount=164


Imo, that was enough (for me) to connect some dots.

I contacted the CHRB and gave them the above information. I also asked if they had looked at the vet bills of the 22 deceased horses to determine if any of the 22 had been treated with bisphosphonates.

My intent in contacting the CHRB comes from a place of wanting to see no stone unturned in discovering the actual cause behind the 22 recent fatal breakdowns.

I also apologized to the CHRB in advance if I was asking them to look at something they had already eliminated as a possible cause.

Even though my gut is telling me that the dots I've connected so far probably lead in the right direction --

At this point I don't really know.

I don't have access to the raw data the CHRB has been compiling on the thousands of horse necropsies in California over the years. Nor do I have access to the vet bills of those horses.

In the end, that makes me just an armchair quarterback with a database.


Right now as I type this, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office is conducting their own investigation.

By Amir Vera, CNN | Updated 4:46 AM ET, Sat March 16, 2019
Los Angeles County District Attorney will begin investigating the Santa Anita horse deaths:
https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/15/us/sa...ion/index.html

Quote:
(CNN) The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office has assigned investigators to look into the recent deaths of 22 horses at Santa Anita Park, according to DA spokesman Greg Risling.

The investigators will work with the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) as it examines the equine fatalities. Shawn Loehr, CHRB chief of enforcement, is leading the CHRB investigation.

"We are cooperating fully with the District Attorney's Office. We will not be providing any additional details about the ongoing, confidential investigation," Loehr said.

The CHRB will perform a necropsy on any horse that dies within a CHRB-licensed facility. Based upon the findings, a complaint may be filed for any violation of CHRB rules or California law, Loehr said.

Now you know what I know.


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Old 03-20-2019, 11:53 AM   #18
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Great exposition of the topic. Investigation of recent vet treatments are only part of the story b/c bisphosphonates linger in bone for months to years. The 2 questions I would ask are (1) Is there any test (blood, hair, urine, bone) that can reveal the drug? Has there ever been a drug test positive?; (2) In necropsy analysis has the drug been detected?
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Old 03-20-2019, 12:08 PM   #19
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Why would the impact of these drugs be isolated to SA?
Hypothetically it could be isolated to SA if the source was traced to a single vet.
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Old 03-20-2019, 12:16 PM   #20
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One thing not mentioned in this thread is that at SA all (or at least most) turf runners have to train over dirt. They also warm up on the dirt.

But that is interesting about these used car salesmen type drugs.
Races at 6.5F, 10F and 12F warm up on the turf. Those races all cross the dirt track and thus allow the jock to go back and forth across the dirt crossing so the horse can get used to it.

Race at one mile or 1 mile and an 1/8th warm up on the dirt.
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Old 03-20-2019, 12:37 PM   #21
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On further thought, since every description of the pharmacologic effects of bisphosphonates emphasizes the long life in bones, I would assume testing for this drug in bone chips should be easy. I am perplexed (skeptical) that both Ky and Calif have not released any results about the presence of biophosphonates in the bones of the dead horses.
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Old 03-20-2019, 12:57 PM   #22
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Does lasix mask other drugs, As now San Anita is now reducing the dosage of lasix
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Old 03-21-2019, 09:27 AM   #23
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Plot Thickens

What a surprise. The Mid Atlantic horsemen are now calling for ban on bisphosphonates: http://www.thoroughbreddailynews.com...wCbCoI.twitter

Key quotes: "This is a bad drug and everybody has been talking about it for a long time. We’re going to take action. We’re going to ban it in the Mid-Atlantic and we’re going to go to the RCI to ask that it be banned nationally, and we are going to ask all industry stakeholders to join us in our efforts.”
“The goal here, and it needs to happen very quickly, is for this drug to be banned,” said Terry Finley, who heads the West Point Thoroughbreds syndicate. “Every sales company needs to take steps to make sure that no horse that goes through the ring is given this drug and that has to happen immediately. The consignors who are not using this drug should be outraged and vocally and persistently advocate that it be banned immediately.”

Finley is among those that believe Bisphosphonate is also given to some horses after the sales and once their racing careers begin. As dangerous as it may be, the drug could have a performance-enhancing effect.

“I hate to say it, but that’s a very reasonable assumption,” Finley said when asked if he thought the drug might be given by some trainers to horses in training that are younger than four. “I base that on what I have seen and the high-level vets that I have been talking to across the country. It pains me to say that, but I do believe this has been a factor. This is why it needs to be banned, especially at the upcoming yearling sales.”


The article does omit 2 key facts. (1)As far as I can tell, it is pretty much impossible to detect the use of this drug. There has never been a positive reported with current detection methods, so talk of "banning" is all on the honor system....good luck with that; (2)Everyone is still pretending that bisphosphonates are just a potential problem ("Whether or not Bisphosphonate played any role in the breakdowns in California remains anyone’s guess."). Well as I noted above, both California and Kentucky (this is not just a SA problem; the death rate in KY almost doubled last year, with many more younger horses) have sent out bone chips from dead horses for analysis, yet no results are known. I strongly suspect all this tumult in the Mid Atlantic is just just based on a theoretical problem (why bring so much heat and light if the drug was not in any bones?).
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Old 03-21-2019, 11:21 AM   #24
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Let me amplify further. Anyone who has followed racing knows that the powers in the sport are almost always reactive, and never proactive. They do not get out in front of industry problems, but rather deal with them (very often by covering up) when they are brought to public attention. The SA situation is a huge problem b/c they cannot cover up breakdowns, though it is interesting that no one is reporting the high Ky death rate.When a group like the Mid Atlantic seemingly tries to get in front of the bisphosphonate issue, I suspect that word is getting out that the autopsy bone analyses, so far unannounced, are revealing the drug.
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Old 03-21-2019, 04:42 PM   #25
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Panic Mode

http://www.thoroughbreddailynews.com...bVXRfg.twitter

Amazing how the industry has apparently hit panic mode over a drug that has been around for years. Today's news brings plenty of handwringing, but, once again only mentions SA, and avoids the injury epidemic in Ky. There is a discussion of the detection difficulties. It does seem that, currently, there is a free pass to use bisphosphonates.
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Old 03-21-2019, 05:59 PM   #26
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Bisphosphonates also cause fertility problems.
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Old 03-21-2019, 06:04 PM   #27
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My brother claims there is a bill in the U.S. congress authored by a NY and a KY representative to begin a nationwide medical policy in racing. The details of which he didn't know yet. That would be awesome news.
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Old 03-21-2019, 06:06 PM   #28
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by Ray Paulick | 03.21.2019 | 2:57pm
View From The Eighth Pole: Take Action Now On Bisphosphonate Use:
https://www.paulickreport.com/news/r...osphonate-use/

Quote:
The Paulick Report recently received a message from a Florida veterinarian, who asked to remain anonymous, concerning the troubling increase in fatal injuries sustained by horses at Santa Anita, “In my opinion, Santa Anita's recent breakdowns may have less to do with the track and more to do with the rampant use of bisphosphonates,” the veterinarian wrote.

“I am an equine only veterinarian and work primarily on Thoroughbreds in training. In our practice, we have seen an almost ten-fold increase in catastrophic breakdowns and large long bone stress fractures (humeral/femoral/physeal) in our 2-year-old in training horses (both sales and race-prepping clients).

“These drugs are widely used prior to the yearling sales in Kentucky to supposedly decrease certain radiographic findings, despite these drugs only being FDA approved for the use in horses 5 years of age and older. The scariest part about bisphosphonates is that no one knows the half-life of the drugs in horses. In humans, the half-life can be up to 10 years.

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Old 03-21-2019, 06:19 PM   #29
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My brother claims there is a bill in the U.S. congress authored by a NY and a KY representative to begin a nationwide medical policy in racing. The details of which he didn't know yet. That would be awesome news.
Where you been? It's the Horse Racing Integrity Act that WHOA has trying to get passed for a number of years (think they finally got someone to sponsor it a couple years ago).

Not necessarily awesome news as it called for federal regulation of medications in racehorses. Not sure that I want the feds telling racing what it should do.
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Old 03-21-2019, 06:41 PM   #30
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More from Ray Paulick --

by Ray Paulick | 03.21.2019 | 2:57pm
View From The Eighth Pole: Take Action Now On Bisphosphonate Use:
https://www.paulickreport.com/news/r...osphonate-use/

Quote:
The British are way ahead of us with their rules. According to a British Horseracing Authority rule adopted in 2017, bisphosphonates may not be used in horses until they are 42 months old. Horses who have been treated inappropriately with the drug will receive a lifetime ban from racing, presumably because of the inherent dangers of a drug that can be released over an extended period of time.

From an ethical standpoint, there doesn't need to be any discussion until research proves it is safe to give young horses with growing bones (which seems doubtful, given the drug package warning and comments by such respected veterinarians as Dr. Larry Bramlage).

Quite simply, when it comes to young racehorses, STOP USING BISPHOSPHONATES. Stop using it to defraud auction buyers and stop putting horses' lives at risk on the racetrack or at training centers.

Now that we have that problem solved, there is one other small issue to consider: what to do with the hundreds or possibly thousands of Thoroughbreds that may have been treated with this drug in an “off-label” manner in recent years? Do we just allow potential carnage to continue at a time when racing – as a result of the spike in fatalities due to broken bones at Santa Anita – is under a national media microscope and public sentiment is almost certainly turning against the sport as a result? Or does the industry actually do something other than form committees and issue statements?

Santa Anita, incidentally, is not the only place to have experienced an increase in fatal injuries. The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission expressed concerns about an increase in 2018 fatalities, and the Paulick Report has received multiple calls from horsemen based at Oaklawn Park this year saying there has been an increase in catastrophic injuries during racing and training at the Arkansas racetrack. (Oaklawn Park does not provide statistics to the Equine Injury Database, so there will be no way to confirm those suspicions). One trainer who called the Paulick Report said he has witnessed horses suffer a kind of injury this year unlike anything he has seen in a half century on the track, and he does not attribute it to the racing surface.

In the world of air travel, when Boeing manufactures a new jet that sustains not one, but two, unexplained crashes, the Federal Aviation Administration grounds that jet – until it can confirm there is no safety issue.

Horseracing has no Federation Aviation Administration.

Racing does have a collection of state regulatory agencies, some with more enforcement powers than others. Those agencies would be derelict in their duty if they did not set forth emergency rules on the “off-label” use of bisphosphonates and demand veterinary records of all licensed veterinarians practicing on racehorses in their state. Young horses treated with bisphosphonates must be identified and placed in an “at risk” category.
Imo, the above article should be required reading for everybody even remotely connected to thoroughbred horse racing.


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