N.Y. Gaming Commission seeks three-year exemption on Lasix from HISA

The New York Gaming Commission voted unanimously to petition the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority for a three-year exemption on a rule that would ban the raceday use of furosemide in all Thoroughbred races beginning on Jan. 1.

The petition – which is being sought in all major racing jurisdictions – would allow horses in most New York races to continue to receive regulated raceday administrations of furosemide, which is also known as Lasix, after the first of the year. Raceday Lasix would continue to be banned for 2-year-olds and in stakes races, as has been the case in New York for several years.

The unanimous approval came after 30 minutes of debate on the topic, with several members expressing reservations about not allowing the raceday ban to begin to apply to all races once HISA’s medication rules go into effect on Jan. 1. Dr. Scott Palmer, the equine medical director of the commission, urged the commissioners to seek the petition, and his comments appeared to be the deciding factor in gaining a unanimous vote.

:: Breeders' Cup Pre-Entry PPs Now Available - Exclusively with a BC Package

“I do this with great reluctance,” said Brian O’Dwyer, the chair of the commission, after the vote was conducted. “However, I have learned in my life that you have to rely on the experts, and Dr. Palmer is our expert, and he has asked us to do this.”

Raceday Lasix use is one of the most controversial issues in racing. The legislation that created the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority required the authority to issue rules consistent with an international group that requires Lasix to be banned on raceday, but it also allowed commissions to seek three-year exemptions to the ban.

HISA intends to conduct a study during the next three years examining Lasix use in horses, using the immense amounts of data the authority is expected to receive regarding the medications that are given to horses. Under HISA rules that went into effect in the summer of this year, all medication treatments for horses have to be logged in a HISA database.

Dr. Palmer told the commission that he believed the study would provide valuable insights into the “benefits and unintended consequence” of raceday Lasix use.

“The best approach is to take the three-year exemption and participate in the studies and not compromise them,” Palmer said.

David O’Rourke, the chief executive of the New York Racing Association, and Joe Appelbaum, the head of the group that represents horsemen at NYRA's tracks, also urged the commissioners to petition for the exemption, in part by contending that NYRA’s overnight program would be put at a severe disadvantage if Lasix use was prohibited in all of the association’s races but still be allowed at competing tracks in the region. Pennsylvania, Maryland, and New Jersey have all either petitioned for the exemption or indicated that they will do so.

Appelbaum also noted that HISA’s rules require a unanimous vote of its board to do away with its own rule banning Lasix at the end of the three-year period.

“There is a very high bar to keep [raceday Lasix use] three years from now,” Appelbaum said.

Many horsemen support raceday Lasix use by pointing to studies that show that the drug is effective in mitigating bleeding in the lungs. However, several studies also show that horses administered raceday Lasix perform better than horses that are not administered the drug, leading some to contend that the drug is a performance-enhancer. The issue has been most controversial in New York, where Lasix use was only allowed beginning in 1995, decades after raceday use began to be authorized in other states. The Jockey Club, which opposes raceday Lasix use, also has an outsized influence in New York.

“The Lasix issue is an issue of competing truths, and competing truths are difficult to deal with,” Dr. Palmer said.

:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.