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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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North Of The Border, Lasix Viewed As Useful Tool, But Not Essential For All At Century Mile

Though the debate over race-day Lasix use in the United States has been raging for years now, it is not likely to quiet down soon, as multiple racetrack authorities have begun pushing to push administration back to 24 hours pre-race in this year's 2-year-old races. For many, it's difficult to contemplate a world where every horse doesn't have an L next to their name in the program – but there is one place in North America where that was already happening prior to a rule change.

Century Mile Racetrack in Nisku, Alberta opened in April 2019 as a replacement for Northlands Park and is now host of the Grade 3 Canadian Derby. The current meet runs primarily Friday and Sunday nights through early November.

This year, Century Mile will not permit race-day Lasix in 2-year-old races, like many places in the States, but it won't card its first race for 2-year-old Thoroughbreds until later this month. Still, the season's first five days of racing saw just 65.3 percent of its runners use Lasix. Last Friday's card saw 16 of 59 runners (27 percent) start without Lasix, and last Sunday's card had 22 of 64 runners without it (34 percent).

Rob MacLennan, racing secretary at Century Mile, said he expects there may be a few more horses on raceday Lasix as the condition book moves more into 3-year-old maiden races, but generally, those percentages are pretty typical.

“I think some of it has to do with the fact Alberta was the last jurisdiction in Canada to phase in Lasix in the early 1990s,” he said. “There's some holdovers who still don't rush to put every horse on it right away. I also think that because the B circuit in Alberta (Grande Prairie and Lethbridge) does not have a Lasix program, there are horses who have proven they don't need it, or horsemen who are a little more used to doing without it because they may have started careers on the B circuit.”

Tim Rycroft, top trainer at Century Mile in 2019 and vice-president trainer/director for the HBPA of Alberta, said he doesn't have a problem using the drug, but is judicious about using it only when a horse has struggled with performance and scopes show there is a significant issue. Rycroft said his mentality may not be universal on the backstretch, but he's not the only one who will use the drug with some horses and not others.

For one thing, he thinks cleaner air around Century Mile probably reduces the need in some cases.

“I think the air's a little cleaner and we have a few less breathing issues than Woodbine,” he said. “I could be totally wrong, but I know we get lots of horses out of Toronto that were notorious bleeders in Toronto and they didn't bleed here working in the morning. Lots of guys treat their horses for morning workouts, because you sure don't want them bleeding – that sets them back about six weeks – and then they'll come here and not bleed. So I think it's got to have a little to do with air quality.”

Because it's up to the trainer (rather than the racing secretary) whether to have raceday Lasix on board, horses starting without it are usually facing at least one other rival running with it. On last Friday's card, three of 21 non-Lasix runners hit the board, one of them winning the race as the only non-Lasix starter. On Saturday, seven of 27 non-Lasix starters hit the board, including three winners on the eight-race card. Those three winners came in races where the majority of runners were running without Lasix.

Rycroft said he isn't too worried about sending a horse into the gates, knowing some of his competitors have used Lasix.

“I just like to keep them as clean as possible because then you know where you're at,” he said. “If the horse doesn't perform properly and you scope and you notice there's a little something going on, then you can go to Lasix, but if you start piling one medication on top of another, what's actually working and what's not?

“I'm not against Lasix; I'm really not either way on it. I don't like to see a horse bleed. If they need Lasix, they need Lasix. You'll see a lot of guys here start without it and if they need to go to it, they go to it. I don't put a lot of my young horses on it the first couple starts – if they don't need it, they don't need it.”

MacLennan said it's hard for him to be sure of how any horses running without the drug experience some degree of exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage (EIPH), since the track doesn't keep statistics on scope results done by private veterinarians. It does make note of horses who suffer such serious bleeding that they experience epistaxis, or visible bleeding from the nostrils. Those horses go on the veterinarian's list for 14 days, and repeat offenders may be barred.

According to MacLennan, there were five horses placed on the veterinarian's list for bleeding last year at Century Mile – four of whom were already on Lasix, all of whom were first-timers on the veterinarian's list for bleeding. Alberta's B level tracks, which do not permit Lasix, saw a total of 16 horses on the veterinarian's list last year, including one repeat offender who was barred from racing for a year. Total race cards in Alberta last year were 219.

None of this means Rycroft wants to see new rules eliminating all Lasix use, however.

“I think there are some people that are too hard on horsemen, saying Lasix should be banned,” he said. “I don't think it should be banned. I think it's a good tool, used properly in the right circumstances.

“They give these guys their trainer's license because they're supposed to know what they're doing as far as health and welfare of their horses, right? So leave them alone and let them do their thing, and hopefully at the end of the day good judgement prevails.”

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CHRB Moves Forward On Lasix Phaseout, Walks Back Proposed Intra-Articular Injection Regulations

The California Horse Racing Board conducted a meeting by teleconference on Thursday, July 16. The public participated by dialing into the teleconference and/or listening through the audio webcast link on the CHRB website. Dr. Gregory Ferraro chaired the meeting, joined by Vice Chair Oscar Gonzales and Commissioners Dennis Alfieri, Damascus Castellanos, Wendy Mitchell, and Alex Solis.

The audio of this entire Board meeting is available on the CHRB Website (www.chrb.ca.gov) under the Webcast link. In brief:

The Board approved two agenda items pertaining to funding the CHRB budget for the fiscal year 2020-21. The budget of $16,820,500 is $2.2 million higher than the previous fiscal year, largely due to $1.4 million in increases for drug testing and safety measures.
The Board approved the license application for a meeting of the Sonoma County Fair (SCF) to be run at Golden Gate Fields, commencing July 31 through August 9, on condition that certain required documents must be submitted to the CHRB at least one week before the start of the meet.
The Board approved the license application for a meeting of the Pacific Racing Association (PRA) at Golden Gate Fields from August 13 through October 4, on condition that certain required documents must be submitted to the CHRB at least one week before the start of the meet.
The Board authorized the racing secretary for both the SCF and PRA meets to establish conditions for races, which will include limiting Lasix administrations to 250 mg, prohibiting any intra-articular medication within 14 days of a race, and extending that prohibition to 30 days for fetlock injections, both metacarpophalangeal and metatarsophalangeal joints.
The Board approved for 45-day public notice a proposed regulatory amendment to allow for increased penalties when there are multiple medication violations. This is essentially the same language as the model rule approved by the Association of Racing Commissioners.
The Board approved for 45-day public notice a proposed regulatory amendment to prohibit horses from racing within 14 days of being administered an intra-articular medication and from racing within 30 days of fetlock injections. The rule also prohibits a horse from training within 10 days of fetlock injections.
The Board approved a rule requiring at least 12 hours of continuing education for renewal of licenses for trainer and assistant trainer. This rule is scheduled to go into effect on June 1, 2021. The CHRB already has numerous educational modules on its website pertaining to equine safety that will help meet this requirement, and more will be added.
The Board approved regulatory amendments limiting Lasix administrations to 250 mg. (the same restriction that racing secretaries have been imposing as race conditions) and prohibiting Lasix administrations to horses that are 2 years old.
The Board authorized Watch and Wager (harness racing at Cal Expo) to distribute $4,000 in race day charity proceeds to five beneficiaries.
The Board authorized TVG to offer a handicapping contest that normally would be conducted onsite at Del Mar, but there are no spectators at the current meet.
Public comments made during the meeting can be accessed through the meeting audio archive on the CHRB website

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Maryland Institutes Lasix Free 2yo Program

The Maryland Jockey Club, The Stronach Group and the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association have reached an agreement for a Lasix-free pilot program through 2023 that will facilitate Lasix-free races for 2-year-old horses, Lasix-free graded stakes, a minimum number of racing days per week during any Maryland Jockey Club meet and a substantial increase in committed funding for the Beyond The Wire aftercare program.

The program, which was the result of weeks of good-faith discussions among all parties, was reviewed and approved subject to the adoption of emergency regulations, which will hopefully be advanced in short order, by the Maryland Racing Commission (MRC) at its July 16 meeting.

Under the agreement, in 2020 Lasix will not be administered to 2-year-olds within 48 hours of a race. From 2021 through 2023, 2-year-old races and graded stakes will be carded Lasix-free. As a result of COVID-19, live racing has been held only twice a week since Laurel Park reopened at the end of May. This agreement provides for a minimum of three live racing days per week during all Maryland Jockey Club meets at current purse levels beginning July 23.

The agreement also calls for a study with respect to Lasix-free racing and states, “The parties agree to discuss in good faith, in consultation with the MRC, the development, implementation and funding of a study and related protocols for post-race scoping of horses to obtain relevant data. The protocols for such study shall include, but not be limited to, establishment of study research parameters and objectives; identification and selection of the horse population for the study; development of scoring, criteria and other scientific methods; selection of persons to conduct the study; and other matters relevant to the study.”

Importantly, the joint agreement paves the way for an enhanced commitment to racehorse aftercare in Maryland through the Beyond The Wire program, which relies heavily on an $11 per-start contribution from owners. That revenue wasn’t generated when Laurel was shut down for two-and-a-half months because of COVID-19 restrictions.

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