{"id":13480,"date":"2012-07-11T21:03:08","date_gmt":"2012-07-12T05:03:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/teensleuth.com\/blog\/?p=13480"},"modified":"2012-09-02T17:07:53","modified_gmt":"2012-09-03T01:07:53","slug":"horse-hater-proven-be-an-ignorant-liar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/teensleuth.com\/blog\/?p=13480","title":{"rendered":"Horse Hater Proven be an Ignorant Liar."},"content":{"rendered":"

from Bloodhorse.com<\/a> <\/span>“I’ll Have Another’s Treatment ‘Routine Care’<\/span><\/p>\n

By Ron Mitchell and Eric Mitchell<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

I’ll Have Another retirement ceremony. photo: Steve Heuertz<\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n

<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Three\u00a0veterinarians who reviewed the treatment regiment of I’ll Have Another<\/span><\/a><\/strong> between the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes found nothing out of the ordinary and took exception to\u00a0characterizations\u00a0in a July 11\u00a0New York T<\/em>imes<\/em> article that indicated\u00a0the colt had been given powerful drugs to cover up unsoundness.<\/p>\n

The winner of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands and the Preakness was scratched from the June 9\u00a0Belmont due to tendonitis that was discovered the day before the race. He was subsequently retired and sold to a Japanese farm for\u00a0stud duty.<\/p>\n

A review of I’ll Have Another’s veterinary records, which trainer Doug O’Neill was required to turn over to the New York State Racing and Wagering Board, showed treatments\u00a0that are consistent and standard with most racehorses, according to three licensed veterinarians.<\/p>\n

Download the I’ll Have Another Vet Records<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n


\n<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

“There is nothing here that was done that wasn\u2019t on the up-and-up,” said John Kimmel, a New York-based trainer and licensed veterinarian, after reviewing the records obtained from the New York State Racing and Wagering Board.<\/p>\n

“All of these treatments are perfectly normal routine care,” said Kentucky-based racetrack veterinarian Dr. Foster Northrop. “All of these medications are used frequently and all are peer-approved treatments.”<\/p>\n

“What was done with him is actually less than is done with some horses,” said Dr. Mark Cheney, a longtime racetrack veterinarian based in Lexington.<\/p>\n

The same records reviewed by Kimmel,\u00a0Northrop, and Cheney\u00a0were the subject of a\u00a0front page article in the\u00a0Times<\/em> headlined “Records Show Triple Crown Contender Had History of Ailments.”\u00a0The article noted that two days before the Belmont Stakes\u00a0“the colt was injected with two powerful painkillers as well as a synthetic joint fluid.”<\/p>\n

“The use of pain medication and anti-inflammatory drugs is neither illegal nor uncommon in racing. But the fact that drugs were being used on I\u2019ll Have Another in the days before a race of immense national interest, and were being ordered by a trainer with a controversial past underscores the uneasiness the issue of drugs is creating in American racing,” the article said.<\/p>\n

According to the treatment records maintained by attending veterinarian Dr. James Hunt, on May 23 the colt was diagnosed with osteoarthritis and four days later was treated with the medication Polyglycan for the condition.<\/p>\n

From May 23 until after the Belmont, I\u2019ll Have Another was regularly given electrolytes and vitamins, as well as medications that are commonly used on a regular basis in race horses. They included\u00a0albuterol, which is given\u00a0to open constricted bronchial airways; acepromazine, for sedation; xylazine, for sedation prior to a radiographic exam; and omeprazole,\u00a0given to prevent\u00a0gastric ulcers.<\/p>\n

Two days before the Belmont, the deadline for when pre-race medications can be given, I\u2019ll Have Another was administered the painkiller phenylbutazone,\u00a0the\u00a0anti-inflammatory\u00a0drug dexamethazone, and polyglycan, an intravenous\u00a0medication routinely administered to lubricate joint cartilage and prevent\u00a0arthritis.<\/p>\n

Kimmel said referring to phenylbutazone as a “powerful painkiller” is a misnomer and that the other medications were appropriate treatments for the diagnoses. Cheney said dexamethasone does reduce inflammation but is not a painkiller. Regarding the polyglycan,\u00a0Kimmel said the medication is comparable to people taking glucosamine for aching knees.<\/p>\n

“Polyglycan is probably the kindest kind of medication you could give and could actually help prevent arthritis,” Kimmel said. “The Bute was given two days before the race. It is most effective in the first 24 hours and would have had a negligible effect on race day.<\/p>\n

“After a hard race, a horse could have had some joint changes and some inflammation, and with a valuable horse heading into a valuable race, these treatments were appropriate. Nothing is out of line here for a horse of his caliber,” Kimmel concluded.\u00a0Regarding osteoarthritis, Kimmel said most horses have some varying degree of inflammation and wear and tear on their joints even as yearlings.<\/p>\n

“It has nothing to do with the soundness or suitability of the joints,” Kimmel said. “And yet, (the\u00a0New York Times<\/em>) is creating the illusion that this horse was so bad he wasn\u2019t in a condition to race, but that doesn\u2019t appear to be the case. I watched this horse train at Belmont, and he put in some strong gallops. The\u00a0Times is just taking pot-shots.”<\/p>\n

In being granted a license in New York, O’Neill agreed to a stiff set of conditions because of pending disciplinary action in California stemming from an excessive level of carbon dioxide in one of his horses in a post-race test in 2010. Next month, he will begin to serve\u00a0a 45-day suspension stemming from that case.<\/p>\n

Included in the conditions of O’Neill\u2019s New York license was\u00a0the following\u00a0stipulation:\u00a0“Access will be provided to any and all veterinary records of treatment and veterinary records; further, I will obtain records of treatment on an ongoing basis from the treating veterinarian and file these records no later than 9:30 a.m. the day following treatment with the board steward or his designee.”<\/p>\n

Because the same requirements did not apply to the other Belmont entrants, the same kind of veterinary treatment records obtained for I\u2019ll Have Another are not available for the 11 horses that ran in the classic, so it is unknown what treatments they underwent leading up to the race.<\/p>\n

As per a directive from the NYSRWB, all Belmont entrants were required to be housed in one barn together, with no other horses, beginning at noon June 6, through the end of the Belmont. The Belmont Stakes barn had stiff security measures in place and every individual and item taken into the barn was documented.<\/p>\n

Noting the differences between his assessment of the I\u2019ll Have Another\u2019s treatment record and those of two veterinarians quoted in the\u00a0Times<\/em>, Northrop concluded, “The\u00a0New York<\/em> Times<\/em> went out on a big limb as far as I\u2019m concerned.”<\/p>\n

Efforts to reach Hunt for comment were unsuccessful.<\/p>\n

\"\"Who hates a horse? \u00a0 New York Times “journalist” Joe Drape hates this horse. He led a pitiful camapign against this cute-as-a-button chestnut colt, who cost a mere $30,000 and ran like an insane lunatic.<\/p>\n

If you hate Joe Drape, tell \u00a0Arthur Brisbane, the NYT’s public editor, who “represents our readers”. You can reach him by email,\u00a0public@nytimes.com<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0or by calling (212)\u00a0556\u20117652. Do it because “Cookies” can’t talk, only whinny.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

from Bloodhorse.com “I’ll Have Another’s Treatment ‘Routine Care’ By Ron Mitchell and Eric Mitchell I’ll Have Another retirement ceremony. photo: Steve Heuertz Three\u00a0veterinarians who reviewed the treatment regiment of I’ll Have Another between the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes found nothing out of the ordinary and took exception to\u00a0characterizations\u00a0in a July 11\u00a0New York Times […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1166],"tags":[1161,1163,1164,1160,1165,1162],"class_list":["post-13480","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-old-nag","tag-fire-joe-drape","tag-i-hate-joe-drape","tag-ill-have-another-joe-drape","tag-joe-drape","tag-joe-drape-idiot","tag-joe-drape-liar"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/teensleuth.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13480","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/teensleuth.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/teensleuth.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teensleuth.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teensleuth.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13480"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/teensleuth.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13480\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14588,"href":"https:\/\/teensleuth.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13480\/revisions\/14588"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/teensleuth.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13480"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teensleuth.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13480"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teensleuth.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13480"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}