"If Lasix is barred, trainers will revert to the cruel and illegal methods used in the past to limit bleeding. They’ll withhold water, and perhaps food, from horses for 24 hours or more before a race. They’ll use illegal, and less effective, drugs like 'Kentucky Red' or tranexamic acid – both of which have been detected in “Lasix-free” jurisdictions. Or they’ll use trainer Woody Stephens’s old trick of giving his grooms red towels to wipe off the blood before anyone noticed." Barry Irwin responds: http://therail.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/18/the-case-against-using-lasix/

"The bottom line appeared clear to many. American racing had to get off the legal needle. Therefore there was a great deal of consternation when the AGSC rescinded it's lasix ban last week."

"Breeders’ Cup remains committed to a plan to ban the use of raceday furosemide in the five races restricted to 2-year-olds that are scheduled for its 2012 event at Santa Anita Park, a spokesperson for the organization said Monday, three days after a similar policy was abandoned by the American Graded Stakes Committee."

"The American Graded Stakes Committee hoped to take a leadership role on race-day medication when it announced last year that it would not award graded status to any stakes races for two-year-olds (or two-year-old fillies) that allows race-day medication, specifically the diuretic furosemide (Salix, also called Lasix). Less than six months remain until the first scheduled graded stakes for juveniles is run and not only has no regulatory body taken action, but the issue has not advanced beyond the committee level of any racing commission."

"The tide of drugs administered to American racehorses has crested and will soon be falling away altogether. The removal of anabolic steroids has already improved safety while allowing female racehorses to run with the ranks of males. The further flow of drugs into the veins and joints of horses will gradually ebb. Trainers will have to rely on knowledge, finesse, athletic development, horsemanship, nutrition, behavior, husbandry and their jockey to win a horse race, sort of like horse racing was always intended to be. Imagine that."

"I think both sides have too much of a strident attitude, and that's not good for the game.... You would think the earth would fall through if we try to ban Lasix. There was a time we didn't have it, so what has changed? I know there are plenty of places to go on that, but I think in the end the notion of a higher standard that is in line with other countries is not a bad thing. Let's remember, we are talking only about 2-year-olds in graded stakes, nothing more."

"The pursuit of the ban has increasingly angered some horsemen, who contend the results of the Jockey Club study that were announced two years ago provided conclusive scientific support to allow furosemide on race day. Citing other studies that have said up to 80 percent of horses will show some evidence of bleeding in the lungs after strenuous exercise, the president of the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, Rick Violette, has begun characterizing the effort to ban furosemide as 'borderline animal cruelty,' a loaded term that has come to symbolize the hardening position of horsemen. Violette said New York horsemen were prepared to file a lawsuit that would prevent New York from enforcing a ban on furosemide, a suit that could tie up the effort for years."

"Sheikh Mohammed’s breeding operation breeds 'a lot of horses in Kentucky that run in Europe without medication, and they run very, very successfully,' including Discourse, a top filly in Europe by the sheikh’s stallion Street Cry. 'They’re all top 2-year-olds in Europe, and they all run medication free, so I don’t know why they need it in America when you don’t need it in Europe.'"

Darley and Shadwell juveniles from McLaughlin's barn are running without Lasix: "With the Breeders' Cup banning the use of Lasix (also known as Salix) in the 2012 2-year-old events at the World Championships, and with the American Graded Stakes Committee announcing that it will deny graded status to any 2-year-old stakes race in which horses can run on the diuretic in 2012, the trainer made the call."

"The only sensible way to ban Lasix is to prohibit its use in all American races, but that will not happen, because the rules are made on a state-by-state basis, and pro-medication horsemen have more clout on the state level than do the nation’s elite owners and breeders. Industry leaders concerned about medications have plenty of other work to do: The performance of many so-called supertrainers suggests that illegal drug use is rampant, and it continues to corrode public confidence in the game. But the battle over Lasix was decided long ago, and it’s too late to overturn the results."

"Industry officials acknowledge next year could be messy. The rhetoric war is under way, though it’s hard to gauge the level of support of the anti-Salix and pro-Salix camps."

"The way we campaign horses has changed. We don’t run as frequently as we used to. The ‘bounce factor’ is a real deal. If you ignore it you get your butt kicked. I actually think that’s been one of the biggest reasons in the downward spiral in starts per year for a horse. We simply give them more time between races. Every time we lead them over there these days we expect an ‘A’ effort. And then when they give you an ‘A’ effort they need more time to recover. It’s as simple as that. I mean, with a lot of trainers, if their horse is not 4-to-1 or less, they’re out. They don’t run."

"The step by the committee was criticized by Rick Violette, the executive director of the horsemen’s group in New York, where 17 graded stakes for 2-year-olds are scheduled for 2011. Violette said that the horsemen would oppose any effort to roll back the rules, citing scientific studies that have demonstrated that furosemide is effective in mitigating the severity and frequency of bleeding. Violette also said that horsemen would go so far as to ask for a restraining order if the policy were to be enforced next year."

"The policy will be evaluated at the end of next year, when a decision will be made whether to continue it or expand it to other graded stakes.... The move dovetails with action taken by Breeders’ Cup to ban race-day drugs for 2-year-old races in the 2012 World Championships."

"If I have top horses like Mo, Thirsty, and Overdriven running next year, I am going to have to rethink my decision to go over there. It's just not fair. They don't hold the Super Bowl at the same venue three out of five years. It's a joke. I wouldn't be surprised if some of the top East Coast trainers and owners didn't go out there next year. Actually, if NYRA decided to run some big races on the same weekend as the Breeders' Cup, I would encourage other horsmen to stay close to home." Also: "As an owner who regularly spends up to $4 million on horses per year, what am I supposed to do if one of these horses bleeds after his first start ... ?"

"Blanket, across-the-board elimination of Lasix, however, would bring about irreversible pari-mutuel Armageddon -- a problem more insidious and ultimately debilitating than any posed by the use of Lasix."

"After a quarter of a century, it might have been assumed that the Breeders' Cup was the finished article but this is evidence that it is still growing and developing. If so, then the sooner Ascot can shift its new Champions Day to a permanent slot in mid-September, the more chance it will stand of making it a success."

"This is no doubt the beginning of the end of Lasix use in U.S. racing. Since serious talk of banning the drug and getting in line with the rest of the world's medication policies began it was apparent that a lot of people were waiting for someone or some organization to lead the charge and take the first step, a first step that would no doubt lead to a domino effect. It will now be a lot easier for others to follow the Breeders' Cup's lead and also ban race-day medications. At least in top level races, these drugs are about to be a thing of the past."

"In addition to invigorating efforts for an industry-wide ban, the Breeders’ Cup decision may sap momentum for a compromise that is being sought by horsemen to allow raceday use of the drug but restrict the injections to state veterinarians rather than private veterinarians and ban the use of so-called adjunct bleeder medications, which are legal in only three states. Horsemen were hopeful that the compromise could be reached as part of the larger discussion being led by the medication consortium, but the prospect of more aggressive efforts to ban the drug outright on raceday will probably move compromise talks to the backburner."

Re: Salty Strike: "Those two victories also coincided with McPeek taking the filly off of Lasix, making her one of two of the 90 horses entered on Saturday’s card to run without the anti-bleeding medication. 'She seems to run well without it,' McPeek said. 'We feel like we can come back a little quicker because we’re not running on Lasix. She’s doing good right now.'"

"Even if we agree that American conditions are different from foreign conditions -- and they are -- in the long run it does not matter. Globalization is here in Thoroughbred racing, and it has been here for about 15 years. Our choice is either to retreat from the global village and die a long, painful death, or to embrace it and compete on even terms."

"Here's how: the racing commissioners from the three Triple Crown states (New York, Maryland and Kentucky) plus the people from the California Horse Racing Board need to sit down and decide what they want to do. If they decide they want to get rid of legalized race-day medications, just do it. With the four most important racing states on board, others will likely follow. If they don't, so be it. These are the four states that matter most."

"Science notwithstanding, it's true that, for whatever reason, the US and Canada stand alone among major racing jurisdictions in permitting race-day use of Lasix. Here's what other major racing countries do ..."

"Horsemen contend that furosemide does not enhance performance but instead allows horses to run to the best of their ability."

From NYT, 1990: "The study found that horses ran an average of 0.48 seconds faster at a mile, roughly three lengths, when treated with Lasix - whether or not they had a bleeding condition. For older geldings, the improvement was as much as nine lengths. The study also found that over 60 percent of bleeders continued to bleed after being given Lasix."