RICK VIOLETTE ON LASIX

[Claimboxx]

http://www.drf.com/news/opinion-rick-vi ... -lasix-ban


Thought this was a very intelligent piece...

[Andymays]

Getting rid of lasix would be foolish to say the least. There were 5 horses that bled that we now know of. I'm sure there were quite a few more that weren't talked about.

There really sick part of what happened at the Breeders Cup is that they didn't bother to scope ALL of the 2-year-olds that ran yet right after the races Dr. Arthur claimed that no horses bled. He retracted that the next day. To this day nobody has bothered to interview the Breeders' Cup to ask them why they didn't bother to scope all of the 2-year-olds and ask them what they have to say about the horses that bled, the Owners of the horses who may have had their horses permanently damaged, or the Gamblers who bet on horses that didn't get their best placing because of the bleeding.

[Vince P]

He made some valid points but I couldn't help but (not) notice how he conveniently avoided he perception issue. And that is undoubtedly one of the biggest problems racing faces regarding Lasix and other drugs.

Vince P

[Andymays]

He made some valid points but I couldn't help but (not) notice how he conveniently avoided he perception issue.
Vince P

So called "Leaders" of the Industry are supposed to educate the public. The truth is that Horse Racing is twice as clean as a sport like golf and about 100 times cleaner than football. This is especially true over the last few years. Several years ago there may have been widespread abuse (milkshaking etc.) but not now. One of the big things now are cortisone joint injections. They do them all over the world but have recently cracked down on the number of injections per month.


http://www.scmp.com/sport/racing/articl ... new-policy

Excerpt:

David Ferraris, trainer of Longines Hong Kong Cup contender Sweet Orange, says he is frustrated by Hong Kong Jockey Club regulations on cortisone joint injections. Sweet Orange was withdrawn from the race following assessment by the Hong Kong Jockey Club that the horse had a soft tissue injury in a joint, where Ferraris says he is not permitted to inject therapeutic cortisone with sufficient frequency.

"Flexibility must be allowed for horses with chronic degenerative changes," Ferraris said. "It's only fair when their workload increases, so should the treatment. These Group horses only race a few times a year and it's not like I am requesting treatment every month - only when they are being prepared for Group One races," said Ferraris.

Ferraris believes the horse came up lame due to the rigors of switching his training from turf to an all-weather surface.

[Andyc]

He made some valid points but I couldn't help but (not) notice how he conveniently avoided he perception issue. And that is undoubtedly one of the biggest problems racing faces regarding Lasix and other drugs.

Vince P

What perception would that be? Wouldn't doing the right thing for the horses and educating the public make more sense? The perception of racing will ALWAYS be that somebody is somehow cheating to cash a bet. For many players it is what allows them to keep playing. They will always have a built-in excuse as to why their superior selections didn't win a race.

http://www.nytha.com/pdf/the_lasix_question.pdf

[Vince P]

He made some valid points but I couldn't help but (not) notice how he conveniently avoided he perception issue. And that is undoubtedly one of the biggest problems racing faces regarding Lasix and other drugs.

Vince P

What perception would that be? Wouldn't doing the right thing for the horses and educating the public make more sense? The perception of racing will ALWAYS be that somebody is somehow cheating to cash a bet. For many players it is what allows them to keep playing. They will always have a built-in excuse as to why their superior selections didn't win a race.

http://www.nytha.com/pdf/the_lasix_question.pdf

Educating the public???????

Impossible.

Axe 10 people you know why they don't play the races and if at least 7 of them don't say it's because of drugs, I'll send you to Tahoe for a weeks vacation.

Vince P

[Andymays]

Vince P said:

"Educating the public???????

Impossible.

Axe 10 people you know why they don't play the races and if at least 7 of them don't say it's because of drugs, I'll send you to Tahoe for a weeks vacation."

Vince P[/quote]
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I agree with you that 7 of 10 would say that. Even though Football Players are full of way more so called drugs like Advil (which is illegal for horses to take) nobody would say that they don't bet football because of drugs.

[Andyc]

Educating the public???????

Impossible.

Axe 10 people you know why they don't play the races and if at least 7 of them don't say it's because of drugs, I'll send you to Tahoe for a weeks vacation.

Vince P

Actually I have NEVER heard anybody say that they don't play the horses because of drugs. I have heard current players use the drug issue as an excuse as to why they are losing.

[Andymays]

Educating the public???????

Impossible.

Axe 10 people you know why they don't play the races and if at least 7 of them don't say it's because of drugs, I'll send you to Tahoe for a weeks vacation.

Vince P

Actually I have NEVER heard anybody say that they don't play the horses because of drugs. I have heard current players use the drug issue as an excuse as to why they are losing.

or why they say they quit. Public perception is pretty bad ever since Eight Belles tragic death. Many in the media accused Larry Jones of filling her with drugs and then when it was found that she didn't have anything in her system they didn't cover it.

Here's some recent Joe Drape sensationalized trash.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/09/sport ... ss&emc=rss

Racetrack Drugs Put Europe Off U.S. Horse Meat
By JOE DRAPE

PARIS — For decades, American horses, many of them retired or damaged racehorses, have been shipped to Canada and Mexico, where it is legal to slaughter horses, and then processed and sold for consumption in Europe and beyond.

Lately, however, European food safety officials have notified Mexican and Canadian slaughterhouses of a growing concern: The meat of American racehorses may be too toxic to eat safely because the horses have been injected repeatedly with drugs.

[Vince P]

Educating the public???????

Impossible.

Axe 10 people you know why they don't play the races and if at least 7 of them don't say it's because of drugs, I'll send you to Tahoe for a weeks vacation.

Vince P

Actually I have NEVER heard anybody say that they don't play the horses because of drugs. I have heard current players use the drug issue as an excuse as to why they are losing.

You're telling me no one has ever mentioned to you all the problems they read about horse racing and drugs? Not buying it Andy, sorry.

For the record no one is saying they should eliminate Lasix entirely.

From what I understand, < 5% of hoses bleed. However at least 98% of them use Lasix. The numbers don't add up. There's a reason trainers use Lasix and it's not solely because their horses are bleeders.

Btw, I appreciate the article you posted - very informative. However, for every Pro-Lasix article circulated, there is an intelligently written Con-Lasix article, so one viewpoint - one way or another - doesn't convince me. I've read several well thought articles on this issue and the consensus is 50-50.

Vince P