Hoping to show that horse racing can wean itself off its reliance on drugs, Barry Irwin has joined a group of prominent thoroughbred owners voluntarily pledging to run their 2-year-olds this year without any race-day medication.In doing so, they put themselves in the middle of a debate about the role of drugs in thoroughbred racing that is getting attention in Congress.
The group, featuring a stable of well-known names in horse ownership and breeding circles, vowed to compete in this year's 2-year-old season without race-day use of the commonly used anti-bleeding drug furosemide, which is marketed as Lasix and Salix. It's the only medication allowed to be given to horses on race day in the U.S. The drug is used commonly to treat pulmonary hemorrhaging in racehorses.
The drug is banned across much of the world because it is considered a performance enhancer.Irwin, whose Team Valor International won last year's Kentucky Derby with Animal Kingdom, said Thursday he hopes the willingness of some leading owners to compete without race-day use of the drug will change perceptions in the sport."Most of these guys are afraid to train without it, and they have scared the hell out of their owners, telling them all sorts of things could happen to their horses if they don't have them run on Lasix," he said. "I've been around long enough that I know that's not the case."
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