corticosteroids | Horse Racing Free Tips

Maryland Commission Moves To Remove Testing Thresholds For Corticosteroids

The Maryland Racing Commission, upon the recommendation of its Equine Safety, Health and Welfare Advisory Committee, has approved a motion to modify a regulation on five corticosteroids to eliminate testing threshold levels and employ level of detection for the substances.

The MRC took the action at its Sept. 23 meeting at Laurel Park. The change will be filed with emergency status and there will be public comment period. Given the regulatory process involved in rule-making, it is anticipated the update regulation will be implemented Nov. 1.

The five corticosteroids are dexamethasone, prednisolone, betamethasone, isoflupredone and triamcinolone. The current 14-day stand-down period for intra-articular injections will remain in place under 2019 model rules approved by the Association of Racing Commissioners International and Racing Medication and Testing Consortium.

The Equine Health, Safety and Welfare Advisory Committee discussed the proposal at a Sept. 8 meeting as a result of several dexamethasone positives and reports the corticosteroid was being regularly administered by some veterinarians at 48 hours before a race at a lower dose rather than the RMTC-recommended 72-hour withdrawal time at the regular dose.

The committee also recommended that Maryland regulators, in an effort to educate vets and trainers, provide information on how long corticosteroids can linger in a horse's system; advise against deviation from recommended administration times; and to point out potential risks to the racehorse.

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Same Rules, New Lab: Maryland’s Leading Trainer Gonzalez Notified Of Two Dexamethasone Positives

Claudio Gonzalez, Maryland's leading trainer for the last four years, scratched all six of his runners entered to race on Sunday, July 4, at Pimlico racetrack in Baltimore, Md., after being notified of two positive tests for the corticosteroid dexamethasone.

Gonzalez said he learned of the positive tests on Saturday, July 3. That night, the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association issued the following advisory to trainers:

“Horsemen are advised of the following regarding the use of dexamethasone, a commonly used corticosteroid with anti-inflammatory properties.

“Dexamethasone has a 72-HOUR withdrawal guideline for intramuscular and intravenous administration of dexamethasone sodium phosphate or oral administration of dexamethasone. The dosing specification is 0.05 milligrams per kilogram regardless of the route of administration.

“Under the Association of Racing Commissioners International Uniform Classification Guidelines and Recommended Penalties Model Rules, dexamethasone is a Class 4 substance in the Class C penalty category. In Maryland, a first offense carries a minimum fine of $1,000 absent mitigating circumstances for a trainer and disqualification of the horse and loss of purse.”

Gonzalez admitted that the veterinarians he employs were giving the anti-inflammatory at 48 hours, but with a lower dose.

“The recommendation is 72 hours and 22 milligrams,” said Gonzalez. (Note: the .05 milligram per kilogram dosing specification converts to about 22 milligrams for a 1,000-pound horse.) “We go 48 hours and give only 10 (milligrams). We give half at two days. Since 2014, they (the vets) have done the same. They've treated 3,000 horses a year from 2014 and never had one positive in Maryland until now.”

These would be the first medication charges against Gonzalez since he received a warning in 2016 for an overage of the ulcer treatment, omeprazole – the only medication violation on his record at www.thoroughbredrulings.com.

Dexamethasone guidelines in Maryland have not changed recently, according to J. Michael Hopkins, executive director of the Maryland Racing Commission.

What has changed is Maryland's official testing lab. Hopkins said when the contract with Truesdail Laboratories of Irvine, Calif., expired in April 2021, the commission switched to Industrial Laboratories in Wheat Ridge, Colo. No formal announcement or advisory on the change of labs was issued by the commission or Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association.

“They changed the lab,” said Gonzalez. “It can be a big difference.”

Several states have now dropped Truesdail as their official testing laboratory since a 2015 quality control audit by the Indiana Horse Racing Commission found that seven positive tests were missed over a 26-day period, including two for betamethasone. Indiana switched to Industrial, as did the West Virginia Racing Commission. The Arkansas Racing Commission had its testing shifted to Industrial after Truesdail's accreditation was suspended in April 2020 by the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium. Truesdail has not sought to re-gain its RMTC accreditation.

Shortly after the switch from Truesdail to Industrial, Hopkins said, an unspecified number of positives for Amicar, an adjunct bleeder medication, were called. The Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association then issued the following advisory:

“Effective immediately, horsemen are urged to discontinue the use of any and all adjunct bleeder medications for horses in training, including in particular, aminocaproic acid—commonly called Amicar.

“Amicar and several other adjunct bleeder medications were placed on the Prohibited List in 2013 under the Association of Racing Commissioners International Uniform Classification Guidelines for Foreign Substances and Recommended Penalties Model Code and the National Uniform Medication Program. Aminocaproic acid, for example is a Class 4 substance and penalty Class C.

“It is important to understand that these medications cannot be regulated by withdrawal time guidance and/or a testing threshold and their use, no matter how far in advance of a race, may trigger a positive post-race test.

“Any trainer who chooses to continue the use of these medications for training in the future will run the risk of a post-race positive test.”

Hopkins said he couldn't comment on any specifics involving the Amicar or dexamethasone positives because of ongoing investigations.

Gonzalez is leading the current Laurel and Pimlico meeting with 27 wins from 110 starts, more than doubling the number of wins by his closest pursuers. Gonzalez said he plans to ask for a split sample to confirm the findings by Industrial and fight the charges if a formal complaint is filed against him.

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Study Shows Possible Link Between Equine Obesity And Asthma

It's been proven that carrying extra pounds can cause humans to develop asthma, and researchers are now attempting to find a link between obesity and breathing issues in horses.

Texas A&M and the Morris Animal Foundation are funding research on the debilitating condition. Currently, the main treatment option for asthmatic horses is the use of corticosteroids, which can cause laminitis in overweight equines.

Texas A&M researcher Dr. Michelle Coleman intends to use 60 horses brought to the University's veterinary teaching hospital for the study. The research team will assess each horse's body condition, identify if they have insulin issues, and determine their asthmatic state by listening to their lungs and taking fluid samples from their lower airways. The horses will be divided into four groups of 15: Obese and asthmatic, non-obese and asthmatic, obese and healthy, and non-obese and healthy.

Each group will be examined for inflammation markers, including cytokine levels. The cytokine levels in humans differ between obese asthmatic people and non-obese asthmatic people. The study will also look at each horse's lung microbiota to see if there is a difference in obese asthmatic horses and non-obese asthmatic horses.

Researchers hope the results from the study will allow horse owners and veterinarians to identify horses at higher asthmatic risk and assist in preventing asthma or intervening in such situations earlier.

Additional Proof That Corticosteroids Don’t Increase Laminitis Risk For Horses

Drs. Katya Potter, Kim Stevens and Nicola Menzies-Gow have completed a study that challenges the belief that corticosteroids increased a horse's risk of developing laminitis. The scientists note that the concern of laminitis is based on only a handful of reports, though multiple studies have been done dispelling the notion that all horses given corticosteroids are at risk of the painful hoof condition.

The veterinarians reviewed case histories of 410 horses that had been treated at two equine clinics. Half of the horses had received standard doses of corticosteroids as part of their treatment protocol; the other 205 were “control” horses that were treated at the clinic, but did not receive corticosteroids. The scientists recorded the age, breed, sex and medical history of each horse and then noted if the horse developed laminitis in the two weeks after treatment. They found that only four of the 410 horses developed laminitis: two that had received corticosteroids and two that had not.

They also completed a second part of the study where they collected the same information on 1,565 horses treated at both clinics with corticosteroids. They found that 10 horses developed laminitis, meaning that less than 1 percent of horses given corticosteroids developed laminitis.

The researchers determined that this is no higher an incidence than the general equine population; the risk of developing laminitis was similar whether they had been treated with corticosteroids or not. However, the study revealed some similarities among the horses that developed laminitis: Some had previously developed laminitis or were obese; others had equine metabolic syndrome (EMS) or pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID). Many of those who developed laminitis were ponies.

The scientists note that it is impossible to determine if the administration of corticosteroids contributed to the occurrence of laminitis—it is just as likely that they developed laminitis because of other risk factors, and it's just is coincidence that it occurred while the horse was being treated with corticosteroids.

The team reminds owners who have a horse that is overweight or has an endocrine disorder that they should be cautious about laminitis year-round, not just when the horse is receiving corticosteroids.