consider confining their application to the treatment of identified disease

consider confining their application to the treatment of identified disease Steroidal drugs are not permitted in international racing. America, Candle Wreathhistorically, has been more permissive, Arthur said, because there was the belief that these medications were beneficial to the horse.

“There are people who still believe that,” he said. “It’s not proven either way, but it is an issue that has caused concern to a number of people who have seriously examined horse racing and the medication policy.”

His philosophy is that less is better.

“But I’m an older guy and I was raised around horses and I don’t have quite the medication bent that some younger horsemen and veterinarians do.”

Dr. Susan Stover of the University of California-Davis appeared as a panelist in June before the United States House of Representatives Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection, which was looking into how to help remedy the problems plaguing the industry: on-track deaths of horses, over-medicating and over-breeding.

Dr. Stover said the industry needed to rethink legal drugs and should consider confining their application to the treatment of identified disease.

“If a horse has pneumonia, you need to treat it for pneumonia; if it has a foot abscess, you need to treat it for a foot abscess,” she said. “I think what we need to consider is whether we need medication for training purposes.”

Racing enthusiasts seem to feel that the general public, rather than being horrified, should view these breakdowns the way boxing fans and pro football fans look at catastrophic injuries: as unfortunate but inevitable consequences of difficult sports.

Boxers and football players volunteer for duty, and presumably know what they’re getting into. If players died more frequently, the government would force reform.