The group reported to a meeting of the RCI's Drug Testing Standards and Practices Committee that they discussed the issue at their meeting
on April 2, 2019 and were not aware of any published studies or papers
providing any evidence of such a link.
The Scientific Advisory Group members participating in the meeting were: Dr. Scot Stanley, Dr. Heather Kynch, Dr. George Maylin, Dr. Ken
McKeever, Dr. Cynthia Cole, Dr. Mary Robinson, Dr. Rick Sams, and Dr.
Thomas Tobin.
“There remains an attempt on the part of some organizations and individuals to leave the impression that the current equine welfare
policy of permitting the voluntary race day use of furosemide under
controlled and transparent circumstances is somehow tied to the tragic
equine deaths that have occurred at Santa Anita and elsewhere,” said
ARCI President Ed Martin in a statement.The ARCI is never averse to
examining an existing policy and we were concerned that such statements
might be based upon solid scientific information we have yet been able
to analyze. Apparently, they are not. Our science advisors were asked
to review this matter and make us aware of any new information that
might be relevant to the equine tragedies that have occurred,” he said.
In 2011, after two RCI officers called for the phase out of race day furosemide treatments, an industry debate on the issue was reignited.
The Drug Testing Standards and Practices Committee conducted a review of
the existing policy and held a public hearing during the Saratoga meet.
Input was received from a variety of experts, including Dr. N. Edward Robinson from the Center for Integrative Toxicology at the
Veterinary Medical Center at Michigan State University. Dr. Robinson
is a recognized expert in the study of animal lung dysfunction,
particularly equine airway disease. He directs the Equine Pulmonary
Research Laboratory at MSU which is dedicated to studying the
pathogenesis and treatment of diseases of the air passages (airways) of
the horse.
After completion of that review, the committee decided that there was insufficient science to justify change to the current policy.
The rationale for current furosemide policy was strengthened by a 2014 Consensus statement from the independent American College of
Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM) published in the Journal of
Veterinary Internal Medicine entitled Exercise Induced Pulmonary
Hemorrhage in Horses.
