To date there is no evidence that the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority has given any thought to the role of the private practitioner except to mandate onerous and dubious vaccinations, piling on bureaucratic duties, and counterproductive medication restrictions while offering no help in manpower or resources. And certainly, no respect for those of us on-call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.
Thoroughbreds, like all equids, are prone to a wide range of gastro-intestinal, respiratory and other acute conditions that often quickly progress to become life threatening without rapid on-site medical attention. Any medical professional can attest to the fact that injuries and illness pay no attention to weekends or vacation days.
That’s the dramatic. The routine work is trying to have our clients’ professional equine athletes ready to compete at the best of their ability on a specified day, the same goal as the trainer—and same expectation as the horseplayer. As part of ensuring an animal’s general health, the private practitioners help to mitigate the effects of chronic orthopedic and muscular conditions, which by the way are not unique to Thoroughbred racehorses. The veterinarian has treatments to aid in the control of respiratory issues like EIPH (commonly known as bleeding) and other upper airway mechanical conditions. The veterinarian can and does play a critical role in helping the trainer and owner determine whether a horse is fit and sound for competition.
Horse owners have tens- to hundreds-of-thousands of dollars invested in each equine athlete. Trainers and other personnel rely on healthy animals for their livelihoods, and we have an obligation to the horse as a sentient being under our care to protect and care for them.
“Gotcha” chemistry, made possible by today’s incredibly sensitive testing, does not make horse racing safer for our equine athletes. Medications act in predictable pharmacological ways, and the dosage along with the administration time matters for the wellness of our equine athletes. However, recently some common and effective veterinary products have been banned by HISA with no research proving they are either performance-enhancing or detrimental to the health of the horse. This is unacceptable to us as scientists and medical professionals. While the private practice racetrack veterinarian has been taken for granted in the past, what the bureaucratic authorities for the Horse Racing Integrity and Safety Authority have now thrust upon us has finally taken that arrogant position to an extreme. Private practicing veterinarians are required to be licensed by each racing jurisdiction in addition to holding a state license to practice medicine in each state where they wish to provide service. As professionals, we expect an extra level of respect due to our education, extraordinary level of licensure and unique position as medical caretakers of the equine athletes.
Yet the racetrack practitioners were not invited to help in HISA’s creation or in crafting its regulations. There is a vanishingly small number of veterinarians licensed to practice on the backside of North American racetracks—five in the entire state of Illinois, and we remain only because of obligation to our clients. We all have addresses, phone numbers, and emails on file with the state authorities. Yet not even a simple personal email was sent describing the mission of this bureaucracy or listing scientific sources to justify implementing draconian restrictions on our ability to practice sound medicine, let alone inviting us to be part of the formative process. No thought was put into addressing real health concerns. Instead, we get scientific safety-ism. Bureaucracy is substituted for medical experience, rigorous professional training, and common sense.
Thomas Little DVM
Chicago area
The “Test”
It is rare that I become involved in an issue at all, much less enough to write about it, but for the first time in my 81 years I felt a need to comment on the race that ran on Aug. 5, or rather the aftermath of the race.
I began watching horse racing on TV back when screens were 10 inches. My mom and I watched Native Dancer lose the Kentucky Derby and Ruffian’s last race amongst many other memorable races. At the end of the Test Stakes, I again found myself shouting “NO, NO, NO” at an unresponsive television. I was cheering for Pretty Mischievous, but seeing Mel go down and then get up holding up her leg brought back the horrid memories of Ruffian and Charismatic. My horse “won” but it wasn’t a win.
As bad as the day was, there was an act of pure class when the team of Brendan Walsh and Godolphin did not go to the winners circle. Then on Sunday, that class act went on to be one of absolute heroism when Walsh and Charley Lynch took the blanket of carnations to Melanie Giddings. I was unbelievably touched by these acts of kindness and those of Bill Parcells in bringing her another horse to occupy the empty stall of Maple Leaf Mel.
Brendan Walsh hugs Melanie Giddings as Charley Lynch presents Giddings with the winner’s blanket from the Test Stakes
I have become a member of MyRacehorse with a small stable of my own, but I pray every time one goes on the track, even for training, that they will be safe. One day I may even get to go to a real racetrack.
Frances Skoglund
Live Oak, Fla.
