Sudden Deaths in Southern Cal

[Calzone Lord]

http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-raci...en-death-spike

[Clip-Clop]

Rat thinner as PED? Possibility.

[Calzone Lord]

Who knows.

[Sightseek]

Would the rat poison also be known as warfarin/coumadin?

[Calzone Lord]

Originally Posted by Sightseek

Would the rat poison also be known as warfarin/coumadin?

It says "diphacinone" over at the Paulick Report. Only the 6th one of Bafferts that died suddenly had it.

The first Baffert horse to die suddenly in the 2011-12 fiscal year as reported by the CHRB was a 2-year-old male who collapsed while galloping at Hollywood Park on the morning of Nov. 4, 2011. His death was attributed to “likely failure of the cardiac conduction system,” according to a necropsy report from the California Animal Health & Food Safety Laboratory System. A second came three weeks later when Irrefutable, a 5-year-old horse, collapsed after finishing second in a six-furlong race at Hollywood Park. Heart failure and/or exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage were listed as likely cause of death. A third sudden death occurred Jan. 6, 2012, again at Hollywood Park, when Uncle Sam, a 4-year-old son of Tapit, collapsed near the three-eighth pole during a morning workout. Equine Protozoal Myeloencephalitis was listed as a possible cause of death, but the report called it a “puzzling” case.

Kaleem Shah owned all three of the aforementioned Baffert-trained horses.

When Mike Pegram’s 4-year-old colt CJ Russell died from apparent heart failure after the finish of a Hollywood Park race June 15, 2012, the necropsy report noted “fourth horse to collapse/die for this trainer in less than one year.”

A fifth death occurred Aug. 20, 2012, when a 2-year-old male at Hollywood Park died from heart failure while training.

A sixth death occurred on Dec. 21, 2012, when a 3-year-old gelding galloping in the morning at Hollywood Park went down, succumbing to what the necropsy report said was a “massive abdominal/thoracic cavity hemorrhage.” Toxicology tests discovered trace amounts of diphacinone, an agent in rodenticide, or rat poison. The report on the death called this an “important finding” but did not elaborate.

The most recent Baffert sudden death, the seventh since November 2011, happened March 14, 2013, at Hollywood Park, again during hours, when a 5-year-old mare collapsed and died from what the report described as severe pulmonary edema.

Baffert did not respond to voice or text messages sent to his cell phone Wednesday afternoon.

Sudden deaths of horses are extremely rare. Several trainers with more than 30 years of experience interviewed by the Paulick Report spoke warily of the situation. None of trainers lost more than three horses to sudden death during their entire careers, they said.

During the Medication and Track Safety Committee meeting Wednesday, it was revealed that trace levels of rat poison were discovered in toxicology tests of two of the horses who died suddenly, according to Mike Marten, an information officer with the CHRB. Marten said the CHRB interviewed pest-control companies that provided services to the Southern California tracks and that the type of rodenticide used by those companies did not match what was found in the toxicology tests. He also said Dr. Francico Uzal of the University of California-Davis and the CHRB’s medical director, veterinarian Rick Arthur, told the committee that the rat poison could not be confirmed as the cause of death.

[Calzone Lord]

You knew Joe Drape would be all over this.

This is the only type of racing story he seems to like.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/11/sp...=tw-share&_r=0

[RockHardTen1985]

This could all be coincidence. If Baffert has such a high number of questionable deaths why isn't someone doing something about it.

[tabs]

24 horses a week die at America’s racetracks. How is this number acceptable to anyone?

[goodcopy]

Do you think that B.B is feeding his horses rat poison to get them to run better?
Get them to "Mask" some other drug?
Get them to heal or have some other "Edge" that others don't have or will use?
Is this just a shot at a highly successful trainer with a high profile?

[jocko699]

Originally Posted by goodcopy

Do you think that B.B is feeding his horses rat poison to get them to run better?
Get them to "Mask" some other drug?
Get them to heal or have some other "Edge" that others don't have or will use?
Is this just a shot at a highly successful trainer with a high profile?

The numbers seem very high for one trainer. I am surprised and disturbed by it.

[RockHardTen1985]

Originally Posted by jocko699

The numbers seem very high for one trainer. I am surprised and disturbed by it.

What about the number of Pletcher horses? Not just deaths, but injuries also.

[Dahoss]

Originally Posted by RockHardTen1985

What about the number of Pletcher horses? Not just deaths, but injuries also.

What does that have to do with Baffert?

[cmorioles]

Originally Posted by RockHardTen1985

This could all be coincidence. If Baffert has such a high number of questionable deaths why isn't someone doing something about it.

Yeah, because "somebody" always does something in horse racing, it is such a tightly run ship.

[my miss storm cat]

Originally Posted by Calzone Lord

You knew Joe Drape would be all over this.

This is the only type of racing story he seems to like.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/11/sp...=tw-share&_r=0

I have no love for Mr. Drape but he should be all over this.

Horrible...

[freddymo]

Originally Posted by tabs

24 horses a week die at America’s racetracks. How is this number acceptable to anyone?

Other then zero what is acceptable? Its a brutal sport. I love it and horses are going to die.

[Kasept]

Originally Posted by tabs

24 horses a week die at America’s racetracks. How is this number acceptable to anyone?

Originally Posted by freddymo

Other then zero what is acceptable? Its a brutal sport. I love it and horses are going to die.

Understand that the '24 horses a week dying at America's racetracks' is a wholly phony number the Times manufactured with the mythic 'study' of result charts.

[docicu3]

Originally Posted by Calzone Lord

You knew Joe Drape would be all over this.

This is the only type of racing story he seems to like.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/11/sp...=tw-share&_r=0

Doug

In the human world we "overshoot" coumadin or warfarin doses all the time which is easily treated by Vit K or time, often the problem isn't the drug but whatever else is eaten with the meal which can either shorten or lengthen the half life of the drug since they all work by interfering with Vit K metabolism or the liver dependent coagulation factors.

Vitamin K is used in the body to form bones but also plays an important role in blood clotting. Coumadin works by interfering with the liver synthesis of vitamin K-dependent clotting factors. Vit K decreases the amount of blood clots formed in the body the opposite of what your drugs in the article do.

In humans we use these meds to stop clotting for a bunch of reasons such as stroke prevention or avoiding clot associated with abnormal heart rythmns but yes these are the same class and effect of drugs.

[freddymo]

Originally Posted by Kasept

Understand that the '24 horses a week dying at America's racetracks' is a wholly phony number the Times manufactured with the mythic 'study' of result charts.

Yes I am aware that the fig is KAKA but there is a real fig and it does contain dead horses. Moreover I believe we should accept that horses die from training for and competing in horse races. What no one should accept or excuse is the abuse of horses. Simply not OK.. The fact that some will die while being given the finest of care and treatment is brutally acceptable.

[Kasept]

Originally Posted by freddymo

Yes I am aware that the fig is KAKA but there is a real fig and it does contain dead horses. Moreover I believe we should accept that horses die from training for and competing in horse races. What no one should accept or excuse is the abuse of horses. Simply not OK.. The fact that some will die while being given the finest of care and treatment is brutally acceptable.

Absolutely. Well put Fred.

[Danzig]

Originally Posted by freddymo

Yes I am aware that the fig is KAKA but there is a real fig and it does contain dead horses. Moreover I believe we should accept that horses die from training for and competing in horse races. What no one should accept or excuse is the abuse of horses. Simply not OK.. The fact that some will die while being given the finest of care and treatment is brutally acceptable.

you're exactly right. it's not always pretty, that's for sure. but it's the truth.