A public-comment period on potential changes to rules in New York allowing for the raceday administration of the anti-bleeding medication furosemide was set to close this past Monday after supporters and opponents had already submitted a substantial amount of commentary, according to an official with the New York State Racing and Wagering Board.
Raceday medication ban
The two-week public-comment period was the first step in the possible phase-out of raceday furosemide use in horses.
The two-week public-comment period was the first step in the possible phase-out of raceday furosemide use in New York. However, the board has not yet scheduled any further action on a possible amendment of the rules, according to Lee Park, a spokesman for the board.
Both supporters and opponents of changes to the existing rules targeted the board with aggressive lobbying campaigns over the past week. The Jockey Club and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, which both support a ban on raceday use of the drug, launched a website that allowed ban supporters to send a form letter to the board calling for a phase-out of the medication, while the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association attached a link to its website that also allowed users to sign a letter opposing a rollback.
The New York effort coincides with other pushes by supporters of a phase-out of the drug in other states. On Wednesday, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission will discuss a rule providing for a phase-out of furosemide before stakes races beginning in 2013 with juvenile races.
Several of the commission members who voted against the Kentucky proposal last month cited the fear that Kentucky would be avoided by horsemen seeking to race on the drug unless other states passed similar bans. With similar efforts in both Kentucky and New York, where a majority of the stakes races for 2-year-olds are held in the U.S., those fears might be allayed somewhat if both states act in together on a ban starting with juvenile races in 2013.
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