Lasix-Free Races at Gulfstream Could Expand to Other Stronach Tracks

by T.D. Thornton

The two Lasix-free races for 2-year-olds that are to be included in the next Gulfstream Park condition book are being viewed as an experiment by the track's owner, The Stronach Group (TSG), to see if the concept could be expanded to other TSG tracks. 

“We want to kind of test the waters, and then obviously we would look at other jurisdictions,” said Tim Ritvo, the president of Gulfstream and chief operating officer of TSG. “There's the possibility [expanding Lasix-free races] would happen. We're excited about trying them. We're hoping we get good response. We're happy that the horsemen are working with us to support them.” 

The pair of 4 1/2-furlong maiden special weight races, one each for male and female juveniles, are scheduled for July 18 and 19. The $65,000 purse for each race represents a substantial increase over 2-year-old maiden special weight races in the current Gulfstream condition book, which are listed at $48,000. 

“You want to incentivize guys to give it a shot,” Ritvo said. “In the olden days, everybody ran a horse the first time without Lasix, and the horse literally had to bleed before they [got certified by a veterinarian to run on Lasix]. Today, a lot more jurisdictions allow you to put a horse on before that. Hopefully it's a step in the right direction.” 

Lasix–also branded Salix–is furosemide, a nearly universally prescribed legal diuretic in American racing. It gained widespread use in the 1970s for its ability to reduce exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage in equine athletes. In the decades since its legalization, Lasix has been debated as a performance-enhancer. Over the past year, various jurisdictions have attempted to phase out or disincentivize its use. 

“We know it's a struggle and a complex issue that we have to work together on. We know what the public perception is,” Ritvo said about medication usage and over-usage. “We want to show that we take care of the animals. It's a very tough balancing act. We don't want to force-feed it, but we want to give horsemen opportunities to see if there's an appetite to try it.” 

TSG also owns Santa Anita Park, Laurel Park, Pimlico Race Course, Golden Gate Fields and Portland Meadows. 
At racing's Pan American Conference in New York last week, TSG founder Frank Stronach said, “the most important thing in any business is integrity.” Later in the same speech, he said, “race-day medication should be eliminated starting in 2016.” 

Last summer, Arapahoe Park in Colorado introduced $1,000 bonuses to any winning horse that ran totally medication-free. A total of 21 Arapahoe horses ran medication-free, and three of them won a total of four races. Arapahoe is continuing the bonuses at its current 2015 meet. 

This past January, Oaklawn Park announced it would pay a 10% bonus above and beyond the winner's purse share to any horse that won a race without being administered Lasix on raceday. Over 477 races, five were won by Lasix-free Thoroughbreds (four horses total, with one repeat winner). When queried by TDN at the end of the meet in April, Oaklawn director of racing David Longinotti said it was too early to tell if the incentives would be brought back for 2016 or tweaked into a different format. 

In March, The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission voted 8-4 to allow tracks to write race conditions that bar horses from receiving Lasix within 24 hours of post time. No such races have yet to be scheduled in the state.