Match race at Belmont after four are scratched due to Lasix snafu

Four horses were scratched from Friday’s third race at Belmont Park when those horses were not treated with the anti-bleeding medication Lasix in the prescribed timeframe, according to the New York Racing Association and several of the trainers in the race.

Impazible Donna, trained by Bruce Levine; Dancing Sophia, trained by Chris Englehart; Ok Honey, trained by Amira Chichakly; and Movie Moxy, trained by Linda Rice, were all scratched out of the second-level allowance/optional $62,500 claiming race that carried a $100,000 purse.

According to Rice, those horses are scheduled to be treated between 9:30-10 a.m., approximately four hours from post time.

“Nobody showed up to treat them,” Rice said. “I had a horse in the first race and that horse got treated.”

Though the NYRA veterinarian is tasked with administration of Lasix, the horses were scratched in accordance with New York State Gaming Commission rule 4042.2 section 7, that states, in part, “A horse that is not present at least four hours prior to post time or that has not received the administration of furosemide [Lasix] pursuant to this subdivision shall be ineligible to start.”

Further, according to the stewards, those horses being allowed to race for purse money only “is not an option in this instance,” said NYRA spokesman Patrick McKenna.

The race ran with just two horses with Pharoah’s Hear ($3.10) winning by 19 1/4 lengths. Of the $100,000 purse, only $75,000 was paid out, the remaining $25,000 reverts to the purse account.

The NYRA racing office alerted trainers that the same race would be brought back as an extra for next Friday, with entries to be taken on Sunday.

This is the second time in a year at Belmont Park that four horses had to be scratched out of a race due to the failure of the Lasix vet. Last June 9, a nine-horse field scratched down to two when four horses were not treated with Lasix -- three other horses were scratched for other reasons.

For that incident, the Gaming Commission fined Dr. Stephen Lascher, one of the Lasix veterinarians, $4,000 -- $1,000 per horse -- for that mistake.

Lascher, who was the Lasix vet on Friday, was terminated by NYRA later in the day.

Asked if NYRA had made any changes to the Lasix administering procedure after that incident, McKenna said, “Yes. The NYRA Lasix administration protocols were updated to mitigate the risk of timing errors. These protocols will be reviewed following today’s incident and enhanced if necessary.”

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