Calling Kekomi....

[Fairmount1]

Scollay said she did not want to identify the performance-enhancing substance in order to avoid alerting horsemen that may be using the drug illegally. She said the drug has been detected in the world of professional bicycle racing and has been rumored to be in use in other racing jurisdictions.

http://www.drf.com/news/kentucky-horse-racing-commission-approves-funding-medication-studies

[Fairmount1]

I was really curious to hear what Kekomi would have said (hope he is doing okay) but I found this about cyclists and I thought the forum would find it interesting as it might relate to breeding in horses and long term effects.  The quote below really intrigued me and I am curious if anyone knows if this is an accurate statement about the rest of their life???

http://bikepure.org/resources/list-of-banned-substances/types-of-drugs-and-methods-used-in-cycling/

\"The obvious danger with EPO is that the body's capacity to produce red blood cells naturally is compromised, with the athlete ultimately having to rely on injections of the hormone (for the rest of his life)\"

[kekomi]

hello fairmount

it is true that using EPO overtime will stop your own body\'s production. the same thing happens with testosterone and even with things like chapstick (people who\'ve used chapstick for a long time can\'t keep their lips unchapped without it).

your body senses that it has enough and stops making it--since the body is designed to maintain homeostasis if it can. but the bikepure statement is hyperbolic--just like with testosterone, you can\'t stop staking EPO cold turkey, because your body won\'t be able start production again right away, and since it is critical to red blood cell generation, doing so could be life threatening. but like with most things,if you taper off, your body will adjust and pick up the slack and eventually resume production on its own. there are plenty of former cyclists who used EPO for years, who\'s bodies are making their own now.

the effect on breeding is that we can\'t know which stallions today have genetically high natural EPO of pure athletes that can be passed on, and which ones are just pharmaceutical mirages, who will only be passing on average to low natural EPO potential, requiring doping to make their offspring competitive. it\'s the same problem with lasix and bleeding--we can\'t know which stallions are creating generations of bleeders because of lasix and the myth that all horses are bleeders. i guess you could say it doesn\'t matter as long at the races are competitive...but if you do, you have to toss the whole pedigree angle that is so loved by this sport...it\'d be interesting to test the hematocrit of the current leading sires...

ps--i\'m doing ok

[kekomi]

the drug could be anything, but it\'s probably just EPO, esp. since they make a point of mentioning cycling which is pretty much synonymous EPO now.