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Major Racing Organizations Fund First-Of-Its-Kind Furosemide, EIPH Study In 2-Year-Old Racehorses

The Stronach Group together with Breeders' Cup Ltd., Churchill Downs Inc., Keeneland, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association and the New York Racing Association have agreed to jointly fund North America's largest study on the effects of furosemide and on the prevalence and severity of Exercise-Induced Pulmonary Hemorrhage (EIPH) in two-year-old racehorses.

The study, formally titled Furosemide: Its Effects on the Prevalence and Severity of Exercise-Induced Pulmonary Hemorrhage (EIPH) and the Immune System's Normal Response to Exercise in Two-Year-Old Racehorses, began this month and is being led by Dr. Warwick Bayly and Dr. Macarena Sanz from the Department of Veterinary Clinical Services at Washington State University's College of Veterinary Medicine. This study represents the largest study ever to focus on evaluating the effects of furosemide on two-year-old racehorses.

The study will be focused on two-year-old racehorses only and will aim to address the debate surrounding whether or not injection of furosemide has beneficial, detrimental or no effects on the welfare of these racehorses. The use of furosemide and its effects has been a dominant issue confronting North American racing for more than a decade. The study offers an opportunity to address unanswered questions at the heart of furosemide use, namely:

1. Does the administration of furosemide four hours before racing and/or training reduce the severity of EIPH in two-year-old racehorses?
2. Does the pre-race administration of furosemide four hours before racing effect a horse's performance?

The study will evaluate the endoscopic exams from at least 600 horses from three groups representing the major racing jurisdictions of California, Delaware, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York. Horses will be evaluated in three groups: 1) those who are given furosemide at least 48 hours before racing or not at all; 2) those who are given furosemide 24 hours before racing or not at all and; 3) those who are administered furosemide four hours before racing. Veterinary practitioners from each of the jurisdictions will be asked to recruit trainers who are existing clients to voluntarily participate in the study.

“This study provides an opportunity to fill a critical knowledge gap on the use of furosemide,” said Dr. Warwick Bayly, Professor, Equine Medicine, Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine. “As a first-of-its-kind study of this depth, it is our hope that once completed we will be able to provide additional information that will enable the horse racing industry to address the regulation of furosemide in the United States from a scientifically-informed perspective.”

“The current patchwork of rules and regulations across the United States regarding the administration of furosemide does a disservice to the horses and the practitioners who care for them,” said Dr. Dionne Benson, Chief Veterinary Officer, The Stronach Group. “This study is an opportunity for industry stakeholders to come together to invest in meaningful steps to address pressing questions so that we may develop a higher and more consistent standard of rules and regulations.”

“The use of Lasix has long been a highly debated topic. This is our opportunity, as advocates for the safety and welfare of our racehorses, to collect and analyze vital real-life information that can be used to help answer some questions regarding the use of Lasix and its effect, but also guide common-sense regulation around Lasix use,” said Dr. Will Farmer, Equine Medical Director, Churchill Downs Incorporated.

“This study represents a unique collaboration of North American racing interests to further understand the true rate of EIPH in young racehorses through endoscopic examinations performed in post-race settings,” said Dr. Stuart Brown, Equine Safety Director – Sales and Racing, Keeneland. “The potential to gain insight under the present landscape of furosemide use across various racing jurisdictions will help shape decisions that benefit the safety and welfare of the equine athlete in competition.”

Preliminary results from the study are expected to be available in Spring 2021, assuming the quantity and quality of the samples satisfy the requirements for statistical relevance as set out by Dr. Bayly and Dr. Sanz.

The post Major Racing Organizations Fund First-Of-Its-Kind Furosemide, EIPH Study In 2-Year-Old Racehorses appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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AQHA Declines To Support National Bill, Raises Questions About Whether Quarter Horses More Vulnerable To EIPH

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act of 2020 is proposed national legislation that outlines a uniform anti-doping and medication control program to be developed and enforced by an independent horse racing anti-doping and medication control authority.

While the American Quarter Horse Association is strongly committed to the welfare of the racehorse and supports industry reform to improve horse safety, the Association cannot support the current version of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act until key questions are adequately addressed.

The bill lacks details about the funding sources that would sustain the proposed authority. Protecting animal welfare is paramount but the funding for this central authority will need to be attainable, affordable and sustainable for all jurisdictions.
While the bill in its current form allows jurisdictions an opportunity to include Quarter Horses upon their own choosing, the Association is concerned about our breed if they choose to do so. Of particular concern to AQHA is the proposed elimination of race-day use of the medication furosemide, commonly known as Lasix, which is used to mitigate the occurrence of exercised-induced pulmonary hemorrhage (EIPH) in racehorses.
AQHA is currently pursuing funding for a study to investigate the vulnerabilities that Quarter Horses in particular have to EIPH. Numerous industry studies provide evidence that the administration of Lasix improves the welfare of racehorses and indicate there is no link between the use of Lasix and musculoskeletal issues that may be a contributing cause in catastrophic breakdowns.

AQHA works closely with the Association of Racing Commissioners International and Racing Medication and Testing Consortium, which work to create uniformity in medication rules, as well as with state jurisdictions. Among the work on which AQHA has assisted is out-of-competition testing efforts and the use of hair as a testing mechanism and beta-2 antagonist bans. In the five years since many of these rules have gone into effect in the majority of Quarter Horse racing jurisdictions, reported injuries in American Quarter Horses have declined 16 percent.

AQHA is dedicated to industry reform and works closely with international, national and state racing organizations and commissions to evaluate protocols that allow for uniform medication rules and strengthened deterrents to performance-enhancing drugs, and looks forward to continuing this collaborative effort.

AQHA is a strong supporter of reform and uniformity in racing, but for these reasons has concerns regarding the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act of 2020 in its current form.

The post AQHA Declines To Support National Bill, Raises Questions About Whether Quarter Horses More Vulnerable To EIPH appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Details Emerge On Maryland Study Tracking EIPH In Lasix-Free 2-Year-Old Runners

A survey study of all 2-year-olds that race in Maryland this year to determine the extent of exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage is set to begin Friday, Aug. 7, at Laurel Park.

The Maryland Equine Safety, Health and Welfare Advisory Committee, which falls under the Maryland Racing Commission, on July 31 approved the plan for post-race video endoscopies of all starters in all 2-year-old races. The first 2-year-old races of the year in the state have been carded as extras for the Friday, Aug. 7 program.

Under an emergency regulation approved Aug. 2, all 2-year-old races through Dec. 31 will be run Lasix-free with a 48-hour cut-off of the therapeutic medication. The survey study is part of a broader agreement between the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association and The Stronach Group for the Lasix-free pilot program that runs through 2023 for 2-year-old races and graded stakes only. Graded stakes in 2020 are not part of the pilot program.

Private veterinarians who practice at Laurel will conduct the video endoscopies and complete information forms for each horse that will include the horse's name, its EIPH score, any related comments, and whether the horse trains on Lasix. Additional useful data from each race and race day will be added to the information forms, which will be transferred to an online database.

The MRC will maintain all records from the survey study, and only a horse's owner and trainer will be given the results of a scope to maintain anonymity. Horses will be scored using a range from 0 to 3—none, mild, moderate or severe bleeding—for the purpose of simplification.

Dr. John Sivick, a Laurel-based veterinarian who is a member of the Equine Safety, Health and Welfare Advisory Committee, said endoscopies are usually performed 30 minutes to 90 minutes after a race, but the goal will be a window of 40 minutes to 70 minutes post-race to keep the scores as consistent as possible.

All horsemen who enter 2-year-olds in Maryland for the rest of this year can expect the horses to be scoped. The Maryland Jockey Club Racing office will notify horsemen when entries are made and also the morning of the race. Grooms must wait with a horse until it is scoped.

Owners and trainers do not have to pay for the video endoscopies however, they will be entitled to the results.

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Open Letter to the Industry: Bentley Combs

Last week I was disheartened to read the Maryland horsemen had relented to outside pressure to hold 2-year-old racing without Lasix. However, I saw a silver lining in the mentioning of a possible three-year study. No matter what side of the debate you fall on, we can all agree that the race-day administration of Lasix might be the most divisive issue in an industry full of divides.

In the back and forth debate over Lasix and its need, I have heard differing numbers. I have heard anti-Lasix people say between five and 10 percent of horses experience Exercise Induced Pulmonary Hemorrhaging (EIPH), commonly known as bleeding. On the pro-Lasix side I’ve heard over 50 percent. This three-year study gives us the chance to answer that debate.

We have decades of anecdotal evidence through experience at the track and through studies such as the South African study partially funded by the Grayson Jockey Club Research Foundation. That landmark study demonstrated the effectiveness of Lasix and, also importantly, showed no harm with its usage. Knowing this, the prevalence of EIPH should be the deciding factor in the administration of race-day Lasix. What if we had a large comprehensive study answering the question of prevalence of EIPH under real-world racing conditions in horses running in the United States that have not been administered Lasix on race day?

Vital to truly understanding the extent of EIPH, we must determine the numbers of horses who might not bleed through the nostrils, to where it can be observed by the naked eye, but who experience blood in the airways that is detected only by endoscopic exam. Whether visible or not, bleeding is damaging to a horse and often is progressive.

Not having the expertise to come up with the conceptual framework of a peer-reviewed study, this just seems like the most common-sense approach to me: We scope all 2-year-olds that run in a race in Maryland for the next three years. Scope them all 45 minutes to an hour post race. This would be for the simple binary ruling of yes or no. Other things will need to be recorded as well such as sex, surface, distance, weather conditions and track conditions as these things could be contributing factors.

Certainly any such study will face hurdles, including owners and trainers objecting to participation for fear of their horses being put on some sort of bleeder list. Submitting to the study would be a condition of entry. Also people’s minds can be put to rest with the condition of anonymity for the horse. The only purpose for identifying the horse post race is to confirm that the horse was in fact one that ran in that race.

Also: who will do the scoping and who will pay for this study? I think it should be the veterinarians currently working at Maryland tracks doing the endoscopic exams. Vets aren’t going to scope horses for free, so who will pay for the scoping and compiling of the data? This might be pie in the sky, but I think every industry stakeholder should make an effort to chip in for such a study because it benefits everybody and most of all our horses. This issue of prevalence of EIPH brings us to a new starting point in a conversation over Lasix based in science.

I think any owner, trainer, breeder or stakeholder who is genuinely curious and willing to learn would contribute. Such a study would give the world as a whole a chance to learn and grow.

So many decisions in this industry seem to be emotionally based. A study like this gives the industry a chance to base policy-making on Lasix on science rather than emotion.

Given the importance of such a study, the industry shouldn’t limit the scope to just Maryland. Every racing jurisdiction that has adopted a no-Lasix policy for 2-year-old racing–whether by regulatory authority or utilizing a track’s “house rules”–should launch a parallel project.

I sincerely hope the anti-Lasix camp with their numbers of between 5 and 10 percent are correct. Given my own experiences, I don’t believe the anti-Lasix camp’s numbers to be accurate (or they’re only counting horses who visibly bleed), but I don’t know for sure. A study like this would give us a clear view moving forward in our policy-making rather than the emotionally blinded view it seems we’ve been using thus far.

Kentucky-based Bentley Combs began training horses in late 2017 after serving as assistant trainer to Dallas Stewart. The Lexington product graduated from the University of Louisville’s Equine Industry Program in the College of Business and received an MBA from the University of Mississippi.

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