Bill Oppenheim’s Letter to the Editor on WHOA

I have been applauding the work of WHOA from the sidelines, but now I would like to add my voice to those who are advocating the banning of race-day medication in North American racing. I must leave the scientific debate to the scientists, but as a lay person it seems to me the science is pretty straightforward. There is no doubt in my mind that Lasix, for example, is a performance-enhancing drug. In fact, I am not in favor of dumping more and more money into researching what we already know.

However, my advocacy of no race-day medication is really because North American breeders and sellers of horses are suffering in international markets. International buyers already have plenty of reasons to stay at home to spend their money: Galileo, Dubawi, Dansili, Oasis Dream, and Sea The Stars, to name just a few. North American policies on race-day medication just exacerbate the problem by giving international buyers another reason not to come. I am continually surprised that American breeders have not risen up to demand an end to race-day medication for this reason alone: it’s costing them a lot of money. Not just potential yearling buyers, either: places like Hong Kong, I am told by their representatives, won’t even consider buying horses of racing age in North America because of our permissive drug policies. I estimate that the value of North American horses would rise by as much as a third if race-day medication was banned. All the other arguments aside, are we so dependent on race-day medication that we are willing to continue to forfeit this vital outside investment?

It can’t be because people seriously believe we are right and virtually the rest of the world is wrong. Are we just that stubborn? Is short-term thinking that prevalent? So far, it has been, but it is time for that to change.

I support all efforts to reverse this trend. We have had a nearly 50-year `experiment’ with race-day medication, dating from the disqualification of Dancer’s Image from his 1968 Kentucky Derby win when he tested positive for `bute.’ Now we reap what we sow. It’s time for a change, and the time is now. Sign me up.