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Kentucky Derby thread

But Baffert will not attend. He also has admitted that the banned substance may have come from an ointment that Baffert claims was applied to address a skin condition. Story is changing as he initially disputed the result as accurate.

The cream and the clear, round 2.
 
For what it’s worth, My wife is an equine vet and does a lot of lameness evaluation and treatment, that includes joint injections like the problematic one here. She works mostly in show jumping but the procedures are the same as racing. She said it is possible that the horse is metabolically slow at that they gave the injection on the last day possible that an average horse would have cleared the drug but this horse metabolizes steroids slower that average so the substance was still present on race day. It’s possible, but unlikely because a good race team and vet would ensure a few extra days just to be sure. She also said, as a vet she would never do that kind of treatment on a horse without clear consent from the trainer or owner. These injections require direct injection into the cartilage and the joint space. That requires a sterile field because if the joint gets infected, is likely fatal. There is no way a vet goes forth and does a risky procedure like that on any horse, let alone a 7 figure valued horse, without explicit permission from the person in charge.

Great post! What are the performance enhancing benefits?
 
Great post! What are the performance enhancing benefits?

I don't know about this specific drug, but joint injections usually address arthritis in the joint, tendonitis or other joint pain. They can be numbing meds / nerve blocks to dull the pain that the horse feels, or steroids to give a little temporary boost to joint strength, and sometimes they use ultra concentrated plasma to give longer term healing benefits. Race horses all have minor to sever ankle and knee injuries because they run them so fucking hard and if a horse is fast but has an injured foot it is pretty tempting to try and cover it up with a joint injection to get them through another race, especially the Derby. So, most likely, the day before the race they injected a little nerve block or steroid into its joint in the hopes that it would run the race a little faster on a leg with no pain. Mrs./Dr. Birdman says the racing industry is sketchy and it could even be that the horse has no injuries, but they injected it anyway to make it walk and run a little lighter on race day.
 
I don't know about this specific drug, but joint injections usually address arthritis in the joint, tendonitis or other joint pain. They can be numbing meds / nerve blocks to dull the pain that the horse feels, or steroids to give a little temporary boost to joint strength, and sometimes they use ultra concentrated plasma to give longer term healing benefits. Race horses all have minor to sever ankle and knee injuries because they run them so fucking hard and if a horse is fast but has an injured foot it is pretty tempting to try and cover it up with a joint injection to get them through another race, especially the Derby. So, most likely, the day before the race they injected a little nerve block or steroid into its joint in the hopes that it would run the race a little faster on a leg with no pain. Mrs./Dr. Birdman says the racing industry is sketchy and it could even be that the horse has no injuries, but they injected it anyway to make it walk and run a little lighter on race day.

From talking to some horse friends, I'm informed it is more likely that this was a topical ointment treatment rather than an injection due to the small amounts detected.
 
That's Baffert's story. The NY Racing folks await the results of more detailed testing from the Derby.

Stay tuned.
 
Belmont Stakes Info:

Post time: 6:49 p.m. Saturday June 5 at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y. Purse: $1.5 million. Grade: 1. Distance: 1 ½ miles. Weight: 126 pounds. TV: NBC (5-7:15 p.m.)

PP Horse, trainer, jockey, odds

1. Bourbonic, Todd Pletcher, Kendrick Carmouche, 15-1

2. Essential Quality, Brad Cox, Luis Saez, 2-1

3. Rombauer, Michael McCarthy, John Velazquez, 3-1

4. Hot Rod Charlie, Doug O’Neill, Flavien Prat, 7-2

5. France Go de Ina, Hideyuki Mori, Ricardo Santana Jr., 30-1

6. Known Agenda, Todd Pletcher, Irad Ortiz Jr., 6-1

7. Rock Your World, John Sadler, Joel Rosario, 9-2

8. Overtook, Todd Pletcher, Manny Franco, 20-1
 
Bad news, Bob. Dammit, you still haven't learned to clean the stall before you walk in it.

The horses deserve better.
 
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remember when people used to care about this?

some horse named Mage won. congrats.

also, like 7 horses died. but not all at once. that would be weird. at least in modern times.

rip, rj.
 
remember when people used to care about this?

some horse named Mage won. congrats.

also, like 7 horses died. but not all at once. that would be weird. at least in modern times.

rip, rj.
Yeah this shit is absolutely brutal. I can’t believe people can get behind this in 2023. 7 animals dead because of this crap.
 
Why are horses dying while being trained to run fast?
 
Why are horses dying while being trained to run fast?
Their bones get weaker from what I understand. Then when they break things in their legs they are euthanized because horses need to be able to stand.
 
Why are horses dying while being trained to run fast?
They run the absolute fuck out of the horses. When they inevitably get injured, because running this fast in a circle over and over is at the very margins of physical capabilities of the animals, they inject then with pain killers and steroids and keep running them. Then when they get get so injured that they can’t walk anymore or breed, they euthanize them. Racing industry is brutal on the horses.
 
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