[RolloTomasi]

Originally Posted by Cannon Shell

Anyone who thinks vets are pro-lasix for monetary reasons is just plain wrong.

Wasn't my intent. Nevertheless, there is a monetary aspect to the debate that doesn't disappear into thin air simply because everyone claims to be in it for the horse's health.

In addition, if lasix were to be banned raceday, it would set a precedent for reassessment of all other medications, which one way or another, will force a major disruption to the attending veterinarian's economic niche on the racetrack.

Lasix is hardly a big revenue source especially when one considers the time consiumed giving shots and filing paperwork (well except in MD where you seemingly can do whatever you want).

Neither did I say that lasix administration is a major revenue source for vets.

On the hand, do you think $30 million annually is a major expense for racehorse owners collectively?

If a vet makes $15 profit a shot and gives 10 shots a day, 4 days a week (probably high numbers) you are talking $600 a week. Of course this assumes that they have 10 horses in on a given day and that they treat horses in a jursidiction that races year round. For instance vets working at CD dont treat clients horses with lasix at Keeneland or Turfway or Ellis Park. If they have a large enough practice they may have a secondary vet that covers that track but most dont bother.

I understand at an individual level it may seem like small potatoes, but just because lasix shots are potentially spread amongst several different practices, does that mean that the revenue generated simply vanishes?

However long it takes to run a days card is approx the time a vets day is disrupted giving lasix since everyone wants to be treated close to 4 hours out.

So, between roughly 8:00am and 12:00pm, veterinarians are doing nothing else but administering lasix shots? No chance within the 30 minute intervals to do anything else? A second ago, you said, being generous, vets might be responsible for only 10 lasix shots per day. Now you make it sound like they are performing 10 lasix shots per race.

That time takes away from far more lucratitive activities like xrays, scans, injections, etc. A set of xrays might cost you $500 at the big tracks and take 20 minutes to do with the new digital machines.

This presumes that trainers are willing to do costly diagnostic tests on their horses in the first place. I think you're being a little bit disingenuous as to what horsemen are willing to spend, and what income is being "lost" by racetrack veterinarians by doing raceday lasix shots.

By the way, if it takes only 20 minutes to do a digital radiography study, wouldn't a hustling vet be able to bookend that half-hour with a couple of $30 lasix shots?

When you add time spent doing prerace (day before) shots which also must be done in a time specific (24 hours pre post cutoff) and post race jugs and such you see why some practice hire young kids just out of vet school to do lasix and post race stuff. Surely hiring an additional vet is more costly than the money that can be earned giving $20 lasix shots and $25 electrolyte jugs?

So now the main veterinarians aren't even doing these lasix shots. It's the associates they've hired. I guess they actually do have the time to do all that other lucrative stuff. Problem solved.

What puzzles me about the financial argument is that people dont seem to understand that the elimination of raceday lasix wont cause horses to stop bleeding and actually will make trainers even more hyper-sensitive about scoping, pre and post race.

Is it a given that trainers will become hyper-sensitive to scoping? Are they not already? What percentage of horses are scoped following a race?

It will make trainers more apt to use meds in workouts to try to prevent an episode (lasix isnt the only thing used for bleeding in morning workouts) and more likely to use other supplements in order to try to prevent bleeding. Obviously more horses will bleed and some minor incidents will turn into more serious ones. When a horse bleeds you are looking at 2 scopings (post race and before going back to work and probably after most workouts from then on), anti-biotics (to prevent infection and are expensive), clenbuterol (helps clear lungs) and a number of other treatments such as immune builders.

No doubt a lasix ban will result in a more episodes of performance-significant bleeding. However, whether the majority are for or against a lasix ban, I don't think it's realistic to presume that the economics of the issue do not affect the veterinarian segment of the racetrack industry. They are not simply custodians "on the sidelines" keeping an all-knowing eye on the little ignorant kiddie horsemen rough-housing with their toy horses on racetrack playgrounds. They've got dirt under their fingernails, too.