The forces opposed to drugs in horse racing now have their poster child - or poster horse if you will. The recent Congressional hearing on the subject will not be the last time you hear the name Coronado Heights bandied about. The four-year old gelding broke down in his third career start and had to be euthanized. What has elevated this $7,500 claimer to prominence is being featured at the Congressional sub-committee hearing on legislation, HR 2012, that would provide federal oversight on the administration of drugs to racehorses. The hearing ended with Congressman Joe Pitts asking two witnesses how the 17 injections given Coronado Heights in the week before his death was “putting the horse first.”
The Congressman, a Republican from Pennsylvania, is one of four co-sponsors of HR 2012. The legislation would authorize the United States Anti-Doping Agency, the organization that finally dropped the hammer on Lance Armstrong, to regulate drugs that can be administered to racehorses, and establish penalties for those individuals violating its rules. The key standard to be used in administering drugs is the principle of the Veterinary-Client-Patient Relationship set forth in the ethical rules of the American Veterinary Medical Association. The essence of a VCPR is that a veterinarian’s treatment of the patient - in this case a racehorse - must be predicated upon the health needs of the animal and the independent professional judgment of the vet. If medication is to be administered, it must be necessary to treat a documented medical condition.
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