Horse racing quote from days gone by about Bute holds up equally today

While most of the debate on drugs in horse racing is currently focused on Lasix / Salix, the anti-bleeder medication given to every single horse who races in the US with very few exceptions, little is being said about Bute.  Bute is the drug most identified when discussing injury-masking drugs and racehorses.

In a previous post, we highlighted a Sports Illustrated article from 1978 where jockeys were ridiculed by members of the racing establishment for warning about about the dangers of Bute to horse and rider.  At that time, only a handful of States authorized its use.  Today, I believe I am correct in saying that every single racing jurisdiction in the US allows horses to run on Bute, although guidelines vary.

Dancer’s Image in the Winner’s Circle, 1968 Kentucky Derby.

Going back a decade earlier, in another Sports Illustrated article dated May 20, 1968, Kentucky Derby winner Dancer’s Image was “disqualified” (actually the horse kept his win but the prize money was forfeited) because he had been administered Bute, at the time a banned substance on racedays.

While the article is mostly about the mystery surrounding about how Dancer’s Image got the drug and why, the quote that jumped out to me is this one. It holds up equally today just as it did then.

In 1960 Calumet Farm’s Jimmy Jones told SPORTS ILLUSTRATED he was against Butazolidin for several reasons. “First, no matter what you call a medication, in the public mind it’s dope. Well, it has taken horse racing a long time to buildup the public’s confidence, and it shouldn’t do anything to lose that confidence. The second reason is that Butazolidin is going to encourage many trainers to run horses which are definitely hurting and should be laid up for repairs instead of running. Maybe I’m just old-fashioned and maybe I’m wrong, but I believe that if horses can’t run good enough on oats and hay then they shouldn’t be running at all.”

This may be a bitter pill to swallow for today’s horse racing to take, but swallow it they must, if they are going to protect racehorses and jockeys from catastrophic injuries and death and start healing public opinion about the sport.

Former jockey Stevens takes zero-tolerance stand on raceday medication

“I did whatever I had to do to show up, whether is was injections in my knees or whatever,” Stevens said. “My career ended much earlier than it should have had I given myself the proper amount of time to heal up every time I was hurt. I didn’t know how bad I was hurting myself sometimes, and racehorses for damn sure don’t know. I would still be riding today, and a lot of good horses would still be running today, if medications weren’t used the way they are.”

– Gary Stevens, retired jockey

This quote comes from an article by Jay Hovdey writing for the Daily Racing Form covering former jockey Gary Stevens invitation to testify on Monday in Pennsylvania, where the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce’s Subcommittee on Health will convene for a hearing on the subject of “A Review of Efforts to Protect the Health of Jockeys and Horses in Horseracing.”

Stevens adds:

“We are not a bloodthirsty sport,” he continued. “And we do care very much. But time is running out. I see the writing on the wall, and it’s not very encouraging. Until we do what every other racing jurisdiction in the world has done, we’re in real trouble – and that’s zero tolerance when it comes to medication.”

By that, Stevens will testify, he means eliminating the use of medication as a means to maintain Thoroughbreds as active racing assets. He’s spent enough time in the trenches – including brief stints as a trainer and assistant trainer – to know that horses need modern veterinary attention to go along with down-time and tender loving care if they are going to be viable in competition. But the line, he notes, between husbandry and abuse has been tragically crossed. Continue reading >>

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The Hearing starts at 9:30 am, Monday, April 30th.

:: Listen to Hearing >>

:: Full Witness List here >>

Witness list for congressional hearing on raceday medications

A subcommittee of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce will conduct a hearing on health and safety issues in horse racing April 30.

The hearing is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m.

The last congressional hearing on horse racing was held in June 2008 and dealt with similar issues, including equine medication.

WITNESS LIST

Panel 1

Mr. Gary Stevens
Retired Jockey
Jockey Hall of Fame
Sierra Madre, CA

Mr. Arthur B. Hancock, III
Thoroughbred Owner
Paris, KY

Mrs. Gretchen Jackson
Thoroughbred Owner
West Grove, PA

Mr. George W. Strawbridge, Jr.
Thoroughbred Owner
Wilmington, DE

Panel 2

Mr. Glenn Thompson
Trainer
Colts Neck, NJ

Mr. Kenny McPeek
Trainer
Lexington, KY

Dr. Kathryn Papp, DVM
Hillcrest Meadow Equine Services, LLC
Harrisburg, PA

Mr. Gregory L. Ferraro
Professor and Director
Center for Equine Health
University of California School of Veterinary Medicine
Davis, CA

Dr. Cornelius E. Uboh, Ph.D.
PA Equine Toxicology and Research Center
Department of Chemistry
West Chester University

– Listen to the Hearing, April 30th, 9:30 am >>

The witness list comes from a post by Ray Paulick of the Ray Paulick Report. Paulick calls it a stacked deck. By that I take it he means against the horse racing industry. Perhaps it is, but it may also be a stacked deck in favor of the horses and therefore for the horse racing industry. The connection between increased horse safety and welfare and a thriving horse racing industry is routinely ignored in the U.S., to the detriment of all.

When decisions are made by the American horse racing industry, the horses always seem to be at the bottom of the list of considerations. This is often vehemently denied in many quarters of it. However, this is not how it plays out.

The U.S. horse racing industry have had many, many opportunities over the years to make the changes necessary to improve the health, safety and welfare of racehorses, but have refused to do so. Now they may be forced to, and by people who really have no business interfering: politicians.

Perhaps this hearing does not bode well for horse racing, but it just may for racehorses.

– Read Ray Paulick’s article, “Congressional Hearing: Witness List a Stacked Deck” >>

Check out the comments too.