Big Brown's big flop at the Belmont will go down as one of the most disappointing showings in the history of the sport. But it may also go down as a turning point regarding the use of steroids in horse racing.
Big Brown's trainer gave the horse the steroid Winstrol -- which is illegal for humans but legal in most states for horses -- up until last month, when he said he stopped because he was confident that his horse could be great without it. As it turned out, Big Brown was anything but great Saturday.
William C. Rhoden of the New York Times reports:
"The legacy of Big Brown will be a consensus in this sport that it's time to end the use of steroids, to ban its use in horse racing for good," Alex Waldrop, the president and chief executive of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, said in a telephone interview on Saturday.
"This industry understands that the time has come and I am confident that steroids' days are numbered in the game."
We'll never know what kind of horse Big Brown would have been without getting steroids in the first place, but maybe when some future horse does win the Triple Crown, it's a question that won't need to be asked.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-08-2008 @ 8:26PM
Bender said...
Winstrol has a very short half life. (At least in humans) If he hadn't been injected since April, it should have been out of his system by the time of the Derby or at least the Preakness. (It would still be detected in a drug test, but the positive effects of increased strength and endurance would have tapered off) Now if the trainer was lying and stopped injecting right after the Preakness, then what happened Saturday would be a perfect example of the decreased effects, since it looked liked Big Brown just ran out of gas.
But, I only know human pharmacology and maybe horses react differently.
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6-09-2008 @ 8:48PM
Melle said...
Another article mentions that Big Brown was taking Lasix. That article mentions Lasix as an Anti Bleeding Med- That is an incorrect statement- Lasix is an AntiEdema Med- As with other fluid medications it too can be called a BLOOD THINNER so would be the exact opposite of what that article referred to it as ANTI Bleeding med, meaning it would ENHANCE bleeding not be ANTI- This is a reason we see subcu bruised areas on humans taking Lasix or other fluid meds- Edema meds can deplete the body of potassium or greatly lower it n upset tissue salts, upsetting even calcium levels, all resulting in weakening muscles- Lasix could have greatly WEAKENED the horse making it very pitiful that he was expected to race while being weakened by the med- Most of my dads family is in KY n I strongly support horse racing- However I feel a horse should be FREE OF MEDS when expected to race, especially LAB MADE meds which are then FOREIGN CHEMICALS for a body, unlike natural food supplements
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6-08-2008 @ 11:42PM
George B Vieto said...
This steroids story on the horse racing at least doesn't have the fatality rate of professional wrestlers from the last twenty years.
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6-09-2008 @ 11:23AM
Jan said...
Lasix and steroids should be banned for race horses. Think about it. Did Seattle Slew and Secretariat run on meds too? Highly doubtful. Todays horses are bred for quick speed on spindly legs which helps them win.
To have a fair playing field, I support the banning of these drugs.
Rick Dutrow's actions after the race were rude and childish. The race he had "guananteed" was lost to a better horse at that moment. Da'Tara ran a flawless race and Rick didn't ever shake the winning trainers hand for the cameras. You can stare at Big Brown all you want, he just wasn't able to run any faster. I'm just glad he is OK and hope that he will never race again.
The trainer and owners of the Big Brown conglomerate will have to lower the stud fee; see this is all about business.
The great horse Ferdinand died in Japan as horse meat. Support the Thoroughbred Rescues.
Jan in Beaver, Utah
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6-09-2008 @ 2:59PM
scjumper said...
Melle, please do a little research & you'll find that Lasix is given to many, many racehorses to prevent a condition where they bleed from the lungs when exerting themselves at a high level. In fact, I've seen many races where every horse in the field ran on Lasix. Its effectiveness as a performance-enhancer is debated but without it there would be far fewer horses running at all.
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6-09-2008 @ 4:04PM
DI said...
MY HAT GOES OF TO KENT. HE KNEW BROWN'S HEART WASN'T IN THE RACE AND HE BACKED OFF...WHAT A CHAMPION HE IS. C'MON RICK. WHAT UP? YOU PROVED YOURSELF TO BE THE ARROGANT SOB YOU WERE AT THE DERBY WHEN YOU STOMPED DOWN THE TUNNEL WITHOUT CONGRATULATING THE WINNER AND, ON TOP OF THAT BLAMING YOUR JOCKEY. WOULD YOU HAVE PREFERRED PUTTING BROWN DOWN AFTER MAYBE WINNING THE RACE? i AM NOT A RACING EXPERT, BUT, EVEN I COULD SEE THAT BROWN WAS STRUGGLING OUT OF THE POST AND ALL THE WAY AROUND THE TRACK. HE WAS PREOCCUPIED AND NOT FOCUSSED LIKE HE WAS IN THE DERBY AND THE PREAKNESS. YOU SHOULD BE ON YOUR KNEES THANKING YOUR HIGHER POWER THAT THAT BEAUTIFUL ANIMAL IS ALIVE AND WELL. HE IS SO SPECIAL AND SO IS KENT. GET YOUR PRIORITIES STRAIGHT.
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