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AAEP And RMTC Issue Warning: Thyroxine Isn’t A Wellness Supplement, It’s A Prescription Drug

At its February 2020 Meeting, the Racing Medication Testing Consortium's (RMTC) Board of Directors discussed reports of, and evidence for, the wholesale use of thyroxine in entire populations of racehorses as a 'wellness' supplement rather than as the prescription medication that it is.

The Board elected to seek input from, and partner with, the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) in producing an advisory on the appropriate use of thyroxine by providing education to stakeholders and addressing inappropriate or indiscriminate use of the prescription medication. And in so doing, also preserving the equine veterinarian's ability to prescribe thyroxine within the context of an appropriate examination and diagnostic testing in an individual horse.

The RMTC's Scientific Advisory Committee and AAEP's Racing Committee collaborated in drafting the advisory. During its deliberations the AAEP Racing Committee relied on the principles in the AAEP's Position on Therapeutic Medication for the Racehorse, particularly the following:

The AAEP condemns the administration of non-therapeutic or unprescribed medications to racehorses based on our belief that it is not in the interest of horse welfare and racing integrity. (Note: the definition of prescription includes the concept of an individual patient)
The AAEP believes that all therapeutic medication (prescription or otherwise) should be administered by or under the direction of a licensed veterinarian and based on a diagnosis.

“The health and safety of racehorses are inextricably linked to racing's integrity, and the drafting of this document has reinforced the AAEP's and RMTC's shared priorities of promoting equine health and racing integrity,” Jeff Berk, VMD, Chair AAEP Racing Committee.

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Colic No. 1 Reason For Emergency Vet Calls Study Finds

A University of Nottingham study has found that colic, wounds and lameness are the most common reasons for veterinarian to make emergency calls to visit horses after hours. The study was based on 2,602 emergency calls to two major vet practices between 2011 and 2013.

Drs. Adelle Bowden, Polina Boynova, Marnie Louise Brennan, Gary England, Sarah Freeman, John Burford, Tim Mair and Wendy Furness found that 35 percent (923) of the emergency calls were placed for colic issues; after-hours calls for wounds encompasses 511 calls (11 percent). Emergency calls for lameness accounted for 288 calls (11 percent). Most of the calls (58 percent) needed only a single treatment, but a quarter of the calls needed follow-up treatments.

According to the veterinarians, only 480 of the 2,602 cases were considered critical; 43 percent of those were related to colic. In total, 13 percent of the horse's emergency calls were made for were euthanized. It is unclear if this was related to acute disease or the deterioration of a pre-existing condition.

The study team noted that many of the emergency calls had critical outcomes and the majority were euthanized. They note that this is an important welfare concern that requires additional investigation.

Grade 1 Winner Street Band Retired, To Be Offered In Fasig-Tipton November Sale

The connections of Grade 1 winner Street Band have announced her retirement from racing. She will be cataloged at the 2020 Fasig-Tipton November Sale.

Racing in partnership for Ray Francis, Cindy Jones, J. Larry Jones, Medallion Racing, and MyRacehorse.com, Street Band won five times in her career and she retires with earnings of more than $1.1 million.

“Street Band was a special filly for our barn. She had so much class to go with her Grade 1 talent. It's bittersweet to see her go, but we are proud that she proved herself to be among the best of her generation,” said trainer Larry Jones, who also bred the filly with Cindy Jones and Ray Francis.

A 7 1/4-length maiden winner at age two, Street Band would go on to win three graded stakes races by an average margin of three lengths in her career. Her most impressive win came in the $1-million Grade 1 Cotillion at Parx. In a field that featured four different multiple Grade 1 winners and an Eclipse Award champion, Street Band defeated the best fillies of her generation to win going away by 2 1/4 lengths. In winning the Grade 1 Cotillion, she handed multiple Grade 1 winner Guarana the only defeat in her career to this point.

Street Band won or placed nine times in her career, adding victories earlier in the year in the G2 Fair Grounds Oaks and G3 Indiana Oaks to her Cotillion score, along with a third in the Grade 1 Alabama at Saratoga.

Street Band hails from a family with success across the globe. She is the sixth winner from seven to race produced by Street Minstrel, a daughter of top-class broodmare sire Street Cry and a half-sister to two other stakes horses. Street Band's second dam is Minstrel's Lassie, herself a Grade 1 and French stakes winner, and a half-sister to Mintly, the granddam of two-time Australian Group 1 winner Manighar.

Phillip Shelton, manager of Taylor Made's Medallion Racing said, “Street Band took our Medallion partners on an incredible journey. She was our first Grade 1 winner, beating a star-studded field in the Grade 1 Cotillion. We will always remember her pulling her last-to-first charge to beat Grade 1 winners Guarana, Serengeti Empress, Bellafina, and champion Jaywalk. Thanks to Larry Jones and our partners Ray Francis and his family, Larry and Cindy Jones, and MyRacehorse.com.”

Taylor Made Sales Agency will consign Street Band to the Fasig-Tipton November Sale, which will be held immediately following the Breeders' Cup on Sunday, Nov. 8 at historic Newtown Paddocks in Lexington, Ky.

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Best Bets: Stalkers at Saratoga, Green Flash Play at Del Mar

America’s Best Racing and handicapper (and avid gambler) Monique Vág team up to provide horseplayers with their best bets of the weekend. Vág will identify her top picks as well as at least one longshot play of the weekend, a nice opportunity to swing for the fences on a win bet or to take a shot with a show bet. She also will occasionally look for strong exacta plays for the weekend or try to spot a nice opportunity for other wagers. This Weekend’s Bets