Kentucky judge rules horsemen's lawsuit on Lasix rules can go forward

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- A Kentucky circuit court judge has vacated a previous order to throw out a lawsuit filed by a group representing the state’s horsemen over the issue of raceday Lasix, saying that the suit should proceed on its merits.

Judge Thomas Wingate of Franklin County Circuit Court issued the ruling on Friday, saying that the Kentucky Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association was not given “adequate time” to argue that it had standing in the lawsuit prior to a May 27 hearing.

“The court is prepared to decide this matter on the merits and anticipates this matter will be decided on competing motions for summary judgment,” Wingate wrote.

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In May, the KHBPA filed a lawsuit and a request for a temporary restraining order to stop Churchill Downs and Keeneland from writing races in which raceday administrations of Lasix were prohibited. After the May 27 hearing, Wingate had dismissed the suit, arguing that the KHBPA could not demonstrate actual harm to one of its members.

The KHBPA appealed that decision, and Wingate held a hearing earlier this week in which attorneys for the KHBPA argued that the organization had insufficient time to prepare a legal defense of its standing in the suit. The KHBPA also filed an affidavit from the trainer John Hancock claiming that a horse he trains bled after running in a 2-year-old race at Churchill this year, after the ban was put in place.

Lasix use within 24 hours of a race is an extraordinarily contentious issue among some racing constituencies. Horsemen have generally supported its raceday use under the claim that it mitigates bleeding in the lungs, while a consortium of other racing organizations have said that raceday use of the drug puts the U.S. out of line with most of the world’s other racing jurisdictions and creates public-perception problems for the sport.