My Heroes: NYS Racing and Wagering Board

On October 12, the New York State Racing and Wagering Board acted like heroes for all of us worried about the drugging of racehorses. Richard Dutrow Jr. was finally barred from New York's racetracks for 10 years. His name is well known in racing circles for almost 70 violations at 15 racetracks in 9 states. Consider this: Dutrow hid illegal workouts of his horses, used strong painkillers including butorphanol found in winnning horse Fastus Cactus, kept 3 syringes in his desk loaded with xyzaline, a muscle-relaxant. John Sabini, chairman of the Board, said: "His [Dutrow] repeated violations and disregard of the rules of racing has eroded confidence in the betting pubic and caused an embarrassment throughout the industry." It is hoped that Dutrow will not be licensed in other states to race. Those who drug horses to win are not only guilty of greed. Veterinarians believe that using both legal and illegal drugs on race horses is account partly for the fact that the United States has the world's highest rate of thoroughbred mortality.
But Dutrow has the right to counsel, and they managed a win when at a hearing, Judge Richard Giardino upheld the stay. If he hadn't, Dutrow would have been refused entrance to all New York tracks right away. One wonders how much the judge knows about the years on end of drugging horses and how many people have tried to get rid of this widespread horse abuse. With this stay, Dutrow can go on training horses until his appeal is heard; lawyers can delay this process easily. Dutrow said of Giardino's ruling, "I'm glad I still get to go to the barn. I got a very positive attitude here, no negativism at all. It's easy for me to get up in the morning and go to the barn. Everything else comes so naturally for me there." Unfortunately we all know what comes naturally. We congratulate the Board, and wish that Dutrow had been barred for life.

Equine Herpes May be Spread by Stressed Show Horses

When horses like those beauties above leave their peaceful pasture and are taken to the show ring to compete, the equine herpes virus most adult horses carry can spread due to the stress of competition. In an article by Jennifer Viegas of Discovery News, we read that Dr. Philip Johnson, who teaches equine internal medicine at the University of Missouri points out that "most adult horses are infected with the virus....[That] infection leads to a life-long association between the virus and its host. In most healthy horses most of the time, the host's immune system prevents the virus from going active and being especially contagious." But, he goes on, there are times when the virus overcomes the immune system and becomes active. An example is the April/May National Cutting Horse Association's Western National Championships in Ogden, Utah: 32 cases of infectious equine herpes resulted, with those infected spreading the disease to other horses. Dr. Johnson says, "Congregated horses coming together to compete are stressed, adversely affecting the immune system's function." Dr. Johnson adds that it may be that show horses, that are commonly exposed to intense confinement and a lot of transport between shows, neither of which they may be used to, may become carriers of an activated virus. And the grouping of show horses closely together in temporary, strange stabling, is another factor. Once the virus is active, formerly unaffected horses can breathe in the virus, and are infected by horse workers' hands, equipment, tack, and food.

The virus appears in two strains. One is more likely to cause neurological problems. The symptoms of the latter are fever of 102 degrees F or even higher; nasal discharge; fatigue; weakness; urine dribbling; leaning; tail loss of tone; and problems with standing. Dr. Bruce King, state veterinarian of Utah, says that an infected horse should be isolated, his temperature taken and recorded twice a day. Dr. John Hunt, Acting Arizona State Veterinarian, says further that this procedure should continue for 28 days after the initial symptoms are seen. If the sick horse has secondary infections, doctors may use anti-inflammatory drugs, antibiotics, and anti-viral drugs. If the horse can't stand up, body padding and slings may be used; intravenous feeding and a catheter may also prove useful.

Viegas concludes that "some vaccines provide protection against the less debilitating form of the virus, but they do not appear to protect against the neurological syndrome."

Swamp Fever: No Vaccine, No Cure

Maybe you've read about the fatal horse disease currently raging in the west called equine infectious anemia. Many horse people know it as swamp fever. There is neither a vaccine nor a cure. The sick horses suffer from intermittent fever, they are depressed, they grow progressively weaker, they lose weight, and they have anemia and edema. For a more technical description, go to http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/pubs/ansci/horse/v1195w.htm. Let's think of those horses and their desperate owners today, and hope that veterinarians find a solution soon for this terrible scourge.

Iroquois Steeplechase 2011

Readers, meet my friend Robert, pictured above with his daughter, Kimberly. He kindly consented to write his impressions of the wonderful Iroquois Steeplechase, held on May 14th. As a Jump Marshal, his is a unique view. Thanks, Robert!

Iroquois Steeplechase 2011

Saturday, May 14th, was the 70th running of the Iroquois Steeplechase at Nashville's Percy Warner Park.

My thirty-something daughter Kimberly and I were Jump Marshals, along with hundreds of other volunteers at the Iroquois, and Marilyn asked me if I would write a guest blog about my experience this year. I was happy to be asked and anxious to write this!

I have been to the Iroquois five times. Once as a spectator in General Admission on the hillside. Once with press credentials which allowed me to be all over the grounds observing everything. And three times as a volunteer Jump Marshal which keeps me near one jump for all the races, but very close to the horses, with nothing between them and me. I can feel them thunder by! I guess there is a bit of danger that adds to the thrill. This year, I invited my daughter from Knoxville to be a Jump Marshal along with me. Kim and I spent hundreds of hours together at horse shows in her teenage years. In fact she is the person who steered our family into "horse fever" or "horsin' around" in the early nineties. I was hoping we could recapture that feeling of being together at a horse show--and I have to say it worked. We plan to do it every year from now on.

The Iroquois is difficult to write about, because there is too much to write about. It's a horse race, it's a party, it's a fashion show, and it's Nashville on display. It's Nashville's Kentucky Derby (and always the Saturday after the Derby.) One of its prominent signatures is the many beautiful and crazy hats, which I believe was increased this year due to the influence of the Royal wedding. Here is a great link: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.211368625563831.60203.204660386234655. And for a lot of interesting history regarding the Iroquois since 1941, go here: http://www.iroquoissteeplechase.org/RaceInformation/AboutIroquoisSteeplechase.

What part do Jump Marshals play at the race? Marshals are part of the emergency response team who tend to the safety of each of the nine jumps. We are also the eyes and ears of the Emergency Response Director, in case anything happens. In the three years, I've been a Jump Marshal, there have been no problems on my assigned jump or at any of the jumps, although every year there has been a riderless horse, which means the jockey fell off his mount. I suggested to Kim because she was a new volunteer at the jump that she pretend that Classy (her beloved horse) is running in the next race, and do everything you can to ensure her safety. That means all divots filled, all debris picked up, no spectators on the track, and protection and response for any human or horse that possibly go down. The emergency response team at the Iroquois is second to none, with marshals, EMTs, physicians, veterinarians, ambulances, horse ambulances, and life flight helicopters at the ready on site.

I like the Iroquois races because I like horses and all things horse, and this event keeps the interest in horses alive in the minds of Middle Tennesseans. (I have a gnawing fear that the horse is slowly fading away in modern society.) The race also keeps Middle Tennessee economically alive. The last race alone had a $150,000 first prize with $450,000 in total prize money.

Of my five Iroquois experiences, the rain has been a factor (including the Nashville flood of 2010) in all but the first. There is something about the second Saturday in May that brings out the quirky weather. We should be due a nice sunny day next year. I'll see you there!