Respected TB expert speaks out over champion’s care

Larry Bramlage

The New York Times has been defendant of indulging inwards tabloid journalism yesteryear respected thoroughbred wellness skillful Dr Larry Bramlage over a written report focusing on medications received yesteryear overstep American racehorse I’ll Have Another.

The report follows a serial of articles that have got explored concerns inwards racing, including drug use, as well as injury as well as fatality rates.

The Times written report outlined the treatments received yesteryear I’ll Have Another, who was i race away from the coveted Triple Crown afterwards wins inwards the Kentucky Derby as well as Preakness Stakes.

Just a hateful solar daytime earlier the Belmont Stakes, trainer Doug On’Neill announced the retirement of the Equus caballus because of a tendon injury.

The Times report, yesteryear Joe Drape as well as Walt Bogdanich, cited veterinary records obtained from New York State racing regime that showed I’ll Have Another’s front end ankles as well as knees were X-rayed exclusively 4 days afterwards his May xix Preakness Stakes win.

Those X-rays revealed that he had osteoarthritis, the written report said.

Then, ii days earlier the Belmont, the colt was injected alongside “two powerful painkillers” equally good equally a synthetic articulation fluid, the records show.

The adjacent morning, O’Neill announced the horse’s retirement.

The written report said veterinary records showed that the colt’s ailments had been developing for about fourth dimension – a fact it said was underscored yesteryear veterinary Dr James Hunt, who did the X-rays afterwards the Preakness as well as hence performed an ultrasound exam on the colt the hateful solar daytime earlier the Belmont.

“The role of hurting medication as well as anti-inflammatory drugs is neither illegal nor uncommon inwards racing,” The Times written report said.

“But the fact that drugs were existence used on I’ll Have Another inwards the days earlier a race of immense national involvement … underscores the uneasiness the outcome of drugs is creating inwards American racing.”

Bramlage, a fellow member of the Jockey Club as well as yesteryear president of the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) as well as the American College of Veterinary Surgeons, said he decided to speak out because of his concerns that earth did non have got all the facts regarding the issues presented inwards the Times report, as well as a written report on like themes on NBC.

Bramlage, the AAEP’s on-call veterinary for Triple Crown races as well as principal orthopedic surgeon at the prestigious Rood as well as Riddle Equine Hospital, said: “In my opinion, The New York Times slice … was closer to tabloid journalism than in-depth reporting, equally was the selective editing demonstrated on the July eleven edition of NBC’s Nightly News alongside Brian Williams.

“Our increased awareness of equine injuries has increased the number of times that nosotros assist the Equus caballus off the track, but those are non necessarily indications that the Equus caballus has had a serious problem.

“In fact, statistics betoken the number of thoroughbred injuries has trended downward alongside the increased caution.”

He said the misinterpretation of the medical terminology ‘osteoarthritis’, as well as the exchange of ‘major painkillers’ for anti-inflammatory medications is unfair to the uninformed full general public.

“It’s useful exclusively to sell newspapers, non to allow earth to empathize what genuinely happened for the horse.

“The phenylbutazone given to I’ll Have Another is from the same drug grouping equally aspirin as well as ibuprofen inwards humans, can’t travel given to a Equus caballus inside 24 hours of a race, as well as is tested for alongside blood as well as urine samples at all levels of the sport. Dexamethasone is a corticosteroid used equally an anti-inflammatory equally well.

“There have got been eleven horses that have got won ii of the 3 legs of the Triple Crown inwards the terminal 33 years. I would estimate that nigh all of those horses had x-rays afterwards winning the instant leg equally a monitoring, precautionary measure. That’s routine veterinary care, as well as would travel akin to the sort of examinations that human Olympic athletes who only qualified inwards the United States of America championships volition undergo prior to competing inwards the Olympics at the cease of July.

“While veterinary ethics forestall us from speculating on I’ll Have Another’s illustration specifically equally nosotros were non the attention veterinarian, the records provided to New York State Racing as well as Wagering Board create non betoken anything inappropriate.

“No illegal, unprofessional, or medically unwarranted medication was given to this horse.

“We totally concur alongside the approach that Dr Jim Hunt, attention veterinarian, took to instruct this Equus caballus fix for a possible Triple Crown run.”

 

 

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