EIPH

Anytime Bill Mott and Mark Casse have something to say I pay attention...and they have weighed in on the importance of maintaining use of furosemide (Lasix) on race day as a help in preventing pulmonary bleeding during races. I agree with them...but with one condition. Horses who receive Lasix should carry more weight. Bill and Mark and the other trainers speaking out contend that Lasix should be allowed until scientific studies can provide definitive proof that Lasix is a "performance-enhancing drug." As a former National Defense Research Fellow during my...

In response to a release on the subject of 'Equine Sudden Death Syndrome' issued by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) on Sept. 25 (TDN story), which found that atrial fibrillation (AF) was a contributing factor to equine sudden death, Eric Hamelback, CEO of the National HPBA, called the findings into question in a statement of his own on Oct. 8, declaring that the HISA statement 'raised more questions than answers' and 'offered no scientific references, and provided no direct link to the alleged research behind their claims, even...

Susumu Fujita's Shin Emperor has been ruled out of the upcoming G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe next month due to a respiratory illness, trainer Yoshito Yahagi posted on X. A Group 2 winner in Saudi Arabia and a Group 3 winner in Japan, the full-brother to 2020 Arc hero Sottsass will target the G1 Japan Cup in November, a race he finished second in last year. Third in the 2024 G1 Irish Champion Stakes, he ran sixth in the 2025 edition of the race. The post read, "Shin Emperor...

After reading both the Bennet and Parkin article published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association entitled "Fifteen risk factors associated with sudden death in Thoroughbred racehorses in North America (2009-2021)" followed by the TDN analysis of that article, I have become increasingly aggravated over the last three weeks from the implied message portrayed by each. The dramatic click-bait headline "Horses on Lasix at Increased Risk of Sudden Death" is unwarranted by the facts. When compared to the end of the article, one becomes more frustrated with the...

For all the satchels of research dollars and reams of ink devoted to exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage (EIPH), it remains a topic Swiss cheese riddled with unknowns. Which means that, as the sport continues to move away from Lasix as a crutch to manage the problem--especially when the federal Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) outlines a timeframe for a total race-day Lasix ban--various lines of inquiry beg pursuit. Given the sometimes rundown, poorly ventilated state of racetrack barns around the country, perhaps the most urgent one is this: How much...

The biggest story when it comes to the ban of Lasix in the Breeders' Cup is that there was no story. It was, simply, a non-factor. A total of 148 horses competed in this year's Breeders' Cup, all of them running Lasix-free. There were no reports of any horses being in distress or bleeding from the nostrils. I did not hear of one trainer blaming a defeat on the ban of the diuretic. Nor did I hear of or read about any trainers saying they were passing the Breeders' Cup...

The Stronach Group, Breeders' Cup Ltd., Churchill Downs Inc., Keeneland, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association and the New York Racing Association, Inc. have agreed to jointly fund North America's largest study on the effects of furosemide and on the prevalence and severity of Exercise-Induced Pulmonary Hemorrhage (EIPH) in 2-year-old racehorses. The study, formally titled Furosemide: Its Effects on the Prevalence and Severity of Exercise-Induced Pulmonary Hemorrhage (EIPH) and the Immune System's Normal Response to Exercise in Two-Year-Old Racehorses, began this month and is being led by...

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...

The New York Racing Association, Inc. will prohibit the use of Furosemide (Lasix) within 48 hours of racing for all 2-year-olds with the start of juvenile racing in April at Aqueduct Racetrack. The initiative will begin this year, with NYRA prohibiting Lasix in all 2-year-old races at all three NYRA tracks across Aqueduct, Belmont Park and Saratoga Race Course. Beginning in 2021, the same prohibition will extend to all horses participating in stakes races at NYRA tracks. Following the launch of this program in 2-year-old maiden special weight races in...