Does horse racing have a better drug policy than the Olympics?

Cross-posted from Forbes.com

WRITTEN BY TERESA GENARO

Horses jump from the starting gate. Virtually every racehorse who starts a race in the US is given the anti-bleeder furosemide (Lasix, Salix). Image by Steve Fitzpatrick.

“There’s been a lot of talk lately about drugs in racing, and if you pay any attention to the way the sport is covered in mainstream media, you get the sense that Thoroughbred racing is nothing more than hopped-up horses running for nefarious trainers.

“Racing is probably not as dirty as mainstream media depicts it, nor as clean as many of us would like it. Official conversations about medication in racing are a fairly common occurrence these days, many of them centering on the raceday use of furosemide, also known as Lasix or Salix, a diuretic that has been proven to reduce pulmonary bleeding in racehorses, bleeding that is often the result of strenuous exercise. Some people consider it a performance enhancer, others an essential element of equine care.” Continue reading >>

Teresa Genaro is a turf writer. From backstretch to winner’s circle, she write about the sport of kings. See http://www.brooklynbackstretch.com/.