Dr. Fager easy.

You need to watch the videos on Servis horse\'s works. Those 4F in 53 are totally deceptive. Typically his horses jog the first 2 furlongs then run hard past the finish line, then around the clubhouse turn and finally up the backstretch. Just go to XBTV.com and look at the MS works for example. All of the works on video that I\'ve seen are just like that.

Nice edit JB. Thank you.

Some trainers know that their horses will test negative post race because they are being treated with fast clearing PEDs. Can you say Nitrotain? Since there is no random out of competition testing done in the US, you can train your horse on a powerful anabolic steroid like Nitrotain, stop on Tuesday  and race with impunity on Saturday. This allows you to turn an ordinary 3yo maiden claimer into a multiple G1 winner or a good 3 yo sprinter into Dr. Fager!

2,4,8,12

Perhaps Pro-Ride reflects rather than absorbs heat more efficiently than the other non-polymer wax bound synthetic concoctions or dirt. I don\'t know.

You make a very excellent point though which goes to the heart of the biggest issue about this BC. How can the Breeder\'s Cup Brain Trust (BCBT) run its races on a new, relatively untested surface that is much different than the other synthetics? While it has been used on a few minor Australian tracks for several years, to me it is sheer lunacy to run its showcase day(s) on a surface that may have unknown flaws that will only manifest themselves under heavy usage in hot weather over a some undefined period of time. One would think that the BCBT would first evaluate Pro-Ride over a meet or two before using it on horseracing\'s biggest day. Duh?!?

I\'m not JB but I do lnow a thing or two about synthetic surfaces.

Unlike the 3 different Polytrack variants, Cushion Track and Tapeta, Pro-Ride does not use a heat sensitive wax binder to hold the crushed rubber/fiber/sand/??? gamish together. Rather, it uses a heat impervious polymeric binder. For this reason,the manufacturer claims no water is needed to cool down the binder as is required for all the wax bound synthetic concoctions.

Checkout ProRide\'s web site at prorideracing.com

So Student Council ran around a 111-112, about ten points above his lifetime Beyer Top? I don\'t think so.

Barry Irwin Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

 First of all, studies done on female horses that
 were administered steroids showed conclusively
 that while they may have exhibited male behavior
 after initially being retired to the breeding
 paddocks, their fertility was no different than
 distaffers that raced without them.
 
 
What about male horses? There are definitive studies in human males that show that prolonged use of anabolic steroids greatly reduce sterility and/or produce infertility. Why would any horse owner with valuable male breeding stock administer AS, risking loss of millions of dollars at stud?

---------------------------------------------------

My problem with  battling steroids is that I think it will shift the focus from the real danger in racing, which is designer or newly developed drugs.


I think this is a mis-perception.

Designing new and more potent AS is trivial once you understand the chemistry (my field) and a burgeoning industry in human athletics (see weight lifters,cyclists and Olympic athletes for example). IMO, you can\'t separate new designer drugs for other classes of performance enhancing drugs from the drug class called \"anabolic steroids\". If I wanted to cheat in today\'s environment (not caring about future breeding issues), AS drugs would be the easiest and most potent way to go, given their intrinsic performance enhancing abilities and that they are not now banned. Designing a \"new\" one would be trivial when and if they do become banned.

Barry,

As a very successful horse owner, why don\'t you weigh in on banning anabolic steroids in horse racing? I am appalled that AS are allowed to be used in racing thoroughbreds given their demonstrated performance enhancing properties and direct negative effect on fertility which in turn can have deleterious effects on the breeding potential of horses receiving such drugs.

Thanks.

Jerry,

As with all the others who took your advice on SC, I say both thank you and (while bowing) \"We\'re not worthy\".

On another topic recently much discussed on the board, here\'s an article from today\'s DRF on anabolic steroids.

http://www.drf.com/news/article/87764.html

Here\'s the opening paragraph:

The Jockey Club has endorsed a prohibition on the unregulated use of anabolic steroids and is willing to support penalties for owners whose horses test positive for illegal medications, the Jockey Club chairman, Ogden Mills \"Dinny\" Phipps, said Sunday.

JR Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Mr. Irwin,
>
> I\'m not sure if I posed this question to you
> earlier. Could you please share with us your
> knowledge of the use use of anabolic steroids in
> thoroughbred race horses. Is its use nonexistent?
> Isolated? Widespread? And, do you attribute any
> improved performance due to the use of anabolic
> steroids? Finally, can you identify any trainers
> who administer anabolic steroids to their horses?
>
> Thank you.

JR,

I know you posed this question to Mr. Irwin and I as well as you would like to hear his answer. Perhaps you missed my post where I excerpted 2 quotes from a recent DRF article. Here they are again.


The American Graded Stakes Committee, which is overseen by the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, moved to add the anabolic steroids to the post-race testing regimen after receiving reports that anabolic steroids were present in at least half of the post-race samples of horses that won 30 graded stakes last year, according to Andrew Schweigardt, the secretary of the committee and an official of TOBA.


The regulation of steroid use has become a major topic of discussion in the U.S. racing industry in the past 18 months. The U.S. is the only major racing jurisdiction in the world that allows the unregulated use of anabolic steroids, which can build muscle mass, restore a horse\'s appetite, and help horses recover from strenuous exercise.

P.Eckhart Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Here\'s a Florida statute as an example...
>
> 4) Synthetic corticosteroids are permitted to be
> administered to a horse providing:
>
>    (a) Only prednisolone sodium succinate may be
> administered on race day no closer than four hours
> prior to the officially scheduled post time of the
> race for which the horse is entered.
>
>    (b) All other corticosteroids (natural,
> synthetic, or precursors) shall not be
> administered closer than 24 hours prior to the
> officially scheduled post time.

For clarification purposes, the general term steroid refers to many different types of drugs. There are 3 general types of steroids. One type, corticosteroids, an example of which is prednisone , has anti-inflammatory properties and is used to treat medical conditions like joint arthritis, asthma and certain allergic conditions.

A second class is referred to as anabolic-androgenic steroids-- AAS-- which is related to the hormone testosterone. AAS increase protein synthesis within cells, which results in anabolism or build up of cellular (e.g. muscle) tissue. The anabolic steroids are the drugs which have caused so much controversy in the human sports world (see Barry Bonds, Mark McGuire et al). Long term use of AAS drugs (of which there many) have been linked to many different harmful side effects including low sperm count/infertility, back acne and \"roid\" rage to name a few. This side effect profile is different from those associated with corticosteroids, the most notable being susceptibility to microbial and viral infection due to the anti-inflammatory nature of these drugs.

Finally, I will repeat a recent drf quote I posted previously:

The American Graded Stakes Committee, which is overseen by the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, moved to add the anabolic steroids to the post-race testing regimen after receiving reports that anabolic steroids were present in at least half of the post-race samples of horses that won 30 graded stakes last year, according to Andrew Schweigardt, the secretary of the committee and an official of TOBA.


The regulation of steroid use has become a major topic of discussion in the U.S. racing industry in the past 18 months. The U.S. is the only major racing jurisdiction in the world that allows the unregulated use of anabolic steroids, which can build muscle mass, restore a horse\'s appetite, and help horses recover from strenuous exercise.

alm Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Amen.
>
> I have no doubt AGS was the best speed figure
> horse in the Haskell...no doubt about it.  
>
> As for my comment about testing at Saratoga, I was
> speculating.  It\'s not the same from track to
> track and the results at Belmont simply can\'t
> compute if I am guessing right.
>
> I\'m only guessing, but I don\'t think you will see
> AGS ending up as horse or 3yo of the year.
>
> Street Sense, if healthy, IMHO, will win the BC
> Classic as the last horse standing.


Alm,

Why would testing be different at Saratoga and Belmont? As both are NYRA tracks, one would expect the same sample handling procedures, the same type and extent of testing as well as the same testing laboratories. What am I missing?

Thanks.

If any trainer used anabolic steroids (AS) on his horses over a long period of time, there would definitely be an effect on the fertility of the horse because such drugs have effects directly at the gene level. Furthermore one would expect a much lower than average SPI for that horse if he ever became a stallion. Female progeny would also be adversely affected by AS. Has anyone ever performed  a study of the performance of of non-claiming super trainer horses at stud? A bad result would not neccessarily be an indictment or proof of anything because so many other factors are relevant in success at stud, e.g. Had Mr.P stood his whole career in NY, he would likely not have become arguably the greatest stallion ever. I went through the lists of leading stallions over the last 5 years and wrote in their trainers to see if there were any patterns. I leave it to others to perform the same exercise --the results are interesting.