Lasix-free racing

Still riding high from a scintillating victory in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf with fast-finishing Pizza Bianca (Fastnet Rock {Aus}), celebrity chef, restaurateur and owner/breeder Bobby Flay joined the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland Tuesday afternoon. Calling in via Zoom as the Green Group Guest of the Week, Flay appreciated the significance of winning on racing's biggest stage with a homebred, teased a potential Royal Ascot trip with Pizza Bianca and discussed how he would approach racing's marketing challenges and more. Flay made a huge splash at...

In Imprimis (Broken Vow), Joe Orseno has the morning-line favorite in Friday's Janus S. at Gulfstream, the first race that will be held at the South Florida track under new rules that prohibit the use of Lasix in stakes races. Orseno isn't looking forward to what will become the new normal for horsemen across the country at most major tracks. "It's a big adjustment and I'm not fond of the new rules," he said. "I don't see how you can take a horse who has been running on Lasix his...

The 2021 stakes races run at Gulfstream Park will be carded Lasix-free, effective Jan. 1, 1/ST RACING announced Friday. The move to medication-free racing reflects the commitment made in April 2019 by 1/ST, along with other major racing organizations and associations, to eliminate Lasix in all stakes races in 2021 and is consistent with the International Federation of Horse Racing Authorities (IFHA) standards. Gulfstream Park will be the first racetrack in Florida to move to medication-free racing. The medication-free format for stakes races will apply to the $3-million GI Pegasus...

After the Maryland Racing Commission (MRC) on Thursday refused to vote or otherwise rule on a late agenda request to allow The Stronach Group (TSG) to card Lasix-free races for 2-year-olds, an attorney for the TSG-owned Maryland Jockey Club (MJC) told the commission that the MJC-owned Laurel Park wouldn't be scheduling any juvenile races at all under the present rules that allow the use of the controversial anti-bleeding medication. "We currently [don't] have, and I don't believe we will have, any intent of carding a 2-year-old race under the condition...

The Maryland Jockey Club has informed the Maryland Racing Commission of its plans to restrict races for 2-year-olds to connections who opt not to administer Lasix on race day. "The time has come to phase out Lasix beginning with 2-year-old horses," said Belinda Stronach, Chairman and President, The Stronach Group and 1/ST. "We are following through on 1/ST Racing's commitment to put horse and rider safety and welfare at the forefront. We believe in the principle that horses should only be racing free of medication. By taking this important step...