Sale companies partner on bisphosphonate issue

The yearling sale season in North America began in July as the Thoroughbred racing industry continued to grapple with long-standing horse welfare and safety issues pushed into the national forefront by the equine fatalities at Santa Anita. Among the issues in the discussion is the use of bisphosphonates, a class of drugs that are approved for use in older horses to treat osteoporosis but that also have been rumored to have been abused in young horses headed for the sales ring.

In March, North America’s three largest auction companies announced a joint policy allowing buyers of young horses at their auctions to request that their purchases be tested for bisphosphonates, a move intended to stop off-label use of the drugs.

Keeneland, Fasig-Tipton, and the Ocala Breeders Sales Co. say that buyers who request testing for bisphosphonates will be able to return horses to consignors if a horse younger than 4 tests positive for any drug in the class. The buyer is responsible for the $500 cost of the test if the horse tests negative, but if the horse test positive, the cost shifts to the consignor. The policy took effect July 1, prior to the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky summer selected yearling sale, which began the major-market season.

“This is an integrity issue,” the sales companies said in a joint statement: “We all agree that this policy is critical to strengthen buyer confidence in the entire Thoroughbred auction process. As research continues, we will amend our conditions of sale to reflect the advancements in testing science.”

The Consignors and Commercial Breeders Association, which works to represent sellers on issues related to sales issues, policies, and procedures, promptly issued a statement in support of the sale companies.

“The CBA and its members are first and foremost concerned about equine health,” the statement read. “The recent tragedies in California have led to a full examination of how our industry cares for horses from the moment a foal hits the ground all the way up until an injury occurs. Conclusions have been made that the use of bisphosphonates in horses younger than 4 years old has led to unintended and dangerous side effects that weaken our equine athletes. While it is believed that the rate of usage in foals and yearlings has been limited, the CBA believes any ‘off-label’ use of bisphosphonates in young horses is unacceptable.”

A number of prominent breeders and consignors also have come out in support of bisphosphonate elimination in sale horses or testing policies. Denali Stud pledged publicly on its social media channels that no horse raised by the farm “has ever or will ever” be treated with bisphosphonates, and that to its best knowledge no horse it sells will have ever been treated with the substances. Woodford Thoroughbreds also took to its channels to state that no horse raised at Woodford as a weanling, yearling, or 2-year-old in training sales prospect has ever received bisphosphonates. Meanwhile, Stonestreet Farm took things a step further by creating its own testing program and blood bank repository for buyers.

Racing regulators have issued concerns about the use of bisphosphonates in young horses, which have reportedly been administered to young horses in order to build bone density. Some medical practitioners believe that this can lead to fractures due to changes in bone remodeling processes.

– additional reporting by Matt Hegarty