Great Article About Banning Lasix By Finley

[Cangamble]

http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/hor...e=horse+racing

[Niko]

Thanks for the link, excellent!

[Imriledup]

The next time a trainer is interviewed and he says that he's all for cleaning up the game....have the interviewer ask that trainer if he would take ALL his horses off lasix and run them clean and see what that trainer says.

If you are SO against it, why not race all your horses clean?

Cmon, make a statement. Lets have a top, well known, high profile trainer come out and say that he's taking all his horses off lasix and he's challenging all the other trainers to do the same thing to clean up the game.

[Semipro]

Take horses off lasix good idea let-um bleed

[Shenanigans]

Originally Posted by Semipro

Take horses off lasix good idea let-um bleed

More than half of the horses on Lasix never bled a day in their life.

[highnote]

Originally Posted by Semipro

Take horses off lasix good idea let-um bleed

NY banned Lasix for years. They had to give in because many other jurisdictions were allowing it.

If a horse is trained properly then it should be less likely to bleed.

Maybe a horse that bleeds should not be running and only horses that don't bleed should make it to the breeding shed. This would result in a more stoutly bred horse that is able to withstand the rigors of racing.

One reason why German bred horses are so popular now is because of the strict rules of the German jockey club. They have focused their breeding on horses that can stay route distances.

[GameTheory]

They could never do this quickly because Lasix dependency is now bred into the horses, but if they set a ban date 5 or 6 years out for the breeders to adjust they could do it without hurting anyone's economics (except for vets) very much. In the first year of the ban, no Lasix in 2 year olds, in the next year 3 year olds, and after that no Lasix for anyone. Pretty much all the current horses would be out of the game by then. But current horses that are prospective sires and dams will need to drop Lasix now to show their good genes.

As long as the rules are consistent, then a level playing field is a level playing field -- it doesn't matter that the level would be different from today -- undoubtedly it would be better for the breed and made it harder to mask other illegal drugs. (Gotta get rid of bute too.)

[Kelso]

Originally Posted by Semipro

Take horses off lasix good idea let-um bleed

Nope ... don't let 'em run.

[theiman]

Originally Posted by GameTheory

They could never do this quickly because Lasix dependency is now bred into the horses, but if they set a ban date 5 or 6 years out for the breeders to adjust they could do it without hurting anyone's economics (except for vets) very much. In the first year of the ban, no Lasix in 2 year olds, in the next year 3 year olds, and after that no Lasix for anyone. Pretty much all the current horses would be out of the game by then. But current horses that are prospective sires and dams will need to drop Lasix now to show their good genes.

As long as the rules are consistent, then a level playing field is a level playing field -- it doesn't matter that the level would be different from today -- undoubtedly it would be better for the breed and made it harder to mask other illegal drugs. (Gotta get rid of bute too.)

It seems Mr. Finleys article disputes your contention that they could never remove lasix so quickly, by listing all of the horses that showed immediate success in Dubai.
Bleeders shouldnt race.
Nobody can tell me that a breed has gone to almost 99% dependant on Lasix. Can you imagine if I used a similar analogy in humans that 99% of humans now need inhalers in order to breathe?

I cringed the day that NY finally gave in and allowed Lasix.

Why is it the the worlds racing industries survive without it? Maybe the air in the USA is really that bad?

[GameTheory]

Originally Posted by theiman

It seems Mr. Finleys article disputes your contention that they could never remove lasix so quickly, by listing all of the horses that showed immediate success in Dubai.
Bleeders shouldnt race.

Agreed, they shouldn't race. But you still have to be fair about it if you ban it. If I just paid a lot of money for a young horse or for sire fees to breed a horse that I suspect will run well with Lasix but not without, and they ban it suddenly tomorrow that wouldn't be very fair. You can't punish people for doing what's allowed within the rules even if it is bad rule...

[Steve 'StatMan']

How many people in the U.S. need Eyeglasses or Contact Lenses, or have had corrective eye surgery to eliminate that need? I've worn glasses since age 7, I was born in 1959. Most adults I have know need them, and many teens I've met, certainly many of my fellow teens of the 1970's needed them. I don't want to stray off topic - but genetic problems can be pretty big in subgroups. Although I don't think many wild horses bleed thru their noses, swallow their tounges, or displace their soft palates, bow their tendons, etc., and if they do so while being chased by a predator, they likely become dinner & out of their regional gene pool.

[PaceAdvantage]

Originally Posted by Shenanigans

More than half of the horses on Lasix never bled a day in their life.

This is true.

[cj]

No trainer is going to voluntarily stop using Lasix. It gives a competitive advantage. Even horses that don't bleed run faster with Lasix than without.

[Shenanigans]

Originally Posted by Steve 'StatMan'

How many people in the U.S. need Eyeglasses or Contact Lenses, or have had corrective eye surgery to eliminate that need? I've worn glasses since age 7, I was born in 1959. Most adults I have know need them, and many teens I've met, certainly many of my fellow teens of the 1970's needed them. I don't want to stray off topic - but genetic problems can be pretty big in subgroups. Although I don't think many wild horses bleed thru their noses, swallow their tounges, or displace their soft palates, bow their tendons, etc., and if they do so while being chased by a predator, they likely become dinner & out of their regional gene pool.

It is true that breathing problems in horses can be genetic. One of the top stallions of the past few decades is known to throw bad breathers and his sons do the same.
Not to stray off topic here but a horse can not anatomically "swallow" their tounges. That's always been a misconception among the average bettor as to why a horse gets a toungue tie for a race.

[theiman]

Originally Posted by Steve 'StatMan'

How many people in the U.S. need Eyeglasses or Contact Lenses, or have had corrective eye surgery to eliminate that need? I've worn glasses since age 7, I was born in 1959. Most adults I have know need them, and many teens I've met, certainly many of my fellow teens of the 1970's needed them. I don't want to stray off topic - but genetic problems can be pretty big in subgroups. Although I don't think many wild horses bleed thru their noses, swallow their tounges, or displace their soft palates, bow their tendons, etc., and if they do so while being chased by a predator, they likely become dinner & out of their regional gene pool.

Eye glasses or contacts are not a drug taken internally.

Also the percentage who needs them grows as we get older, but that is the nature of the degeneration of our eyes. You said many needed them as teens, yet I am a similar age as you and remember many more didnt need them. In fact I looked at my 6th grade class picture and out of a class of 32 kids only 5 had glasses, and I assure you none were wearing contacts back in the mid 60's. The key analogy in this comparison of horses and lasix to humans and glasses is that 99% of the humans, at the equivalent of a 2 or 3 year old horse, dont need assistance while 99% of horses are using lasix. I dont know when lasix was first used as an approved treatment for bleeders to race, but now the entire breed needs it? How long could it have been 30-40 years ago?