The Rest of the World

Agree , but you can't beat a piss up & a party for sustained genuine involvement in the sport ... the racing world can learn a lot from us! 

All this week, the TDN has been trying to nail down concrete details surrounding the studies performed for the Racing Medication & Testing Consortium's (RMTC) Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) into the way metformin behaves in Thoroughbreds. It turns out that the first of the three papers stemming from this study was published Wednesday in the online journal, Drug Testing and Analysis. In short, the study finds a “prolonged detection time” for the drug. This first study involved 12 Thoroughbreds aged between two and seven years of age. It was broken into two phases. In phase one, six of these horses were given an oral administration of 15 grams of metformin, while the other six were given an intravenous administration of 5 milligrams per kilogram of metformin. When metformin was no longer detectable in the blood and urine of these 12 horses, phase two began, which saw the horses given opposite treatments. It took 21 days for the metformin to fall below the limit of quantification (LOQ), set at 0.25?ng/mL for all 12 horses given both the intravenous and oral administrations. It took 11 days post-administration for the metformin concentrations to fall below the 0.25?ng/mL level in six of the 12 horses. The maximum concentration of metformin detected in this study was 941 nanograms per milliliter at around the 51 minute mark. The paper also points out that Metformin concentrations in urine “fluctuated significantly” between and within individual horses, “and there was not a consistent relationship between blood and urine samples across time points.” Interestingly, the study points out that following oral administration of the drug, “five horses showed mild signs of abdominal discomfort, such as pawing and rolling 4?[hours] after the drug was administered; these signs resolved on their own within 2?[hours].” Starting in June of last year, the RMTC performed an initial review of the existing scientific literature on the drug, then gathered together a team of researchers who performed a three-part study. The result was a recommended Minimum Reporting Level (MRL) of 4.0 nanograms per milliliter in blood. Because of metformin's erratic elimination behavior in urine, the researchers haven't recommend using it as a suitable testing matrix. Prior to that, federal regulators had used a much lower screening limit of 0.5 nanograms per milliliter in blood and 1 nanogram per milliliter in urine. And prior to that, they had used an approach allowing each individual lab's limit of detection which varied from facility to facility. Two more papers are being submitted for publication. And how much did this whole endeavour cost? That's currently unclear. When asked, a Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU) spokesperson wrote the following: “The cost of the metformin studies was covered as part of the pre-established annual laboratory credit with UC Davis for science and research that is applied to California's assessment for HISA. This is determined by HISA, HIWU, UC Davis, and the CHRB. HISA and HIWU did not contribute additional funding beyond the established credit. “The credits enable Program laboratories–in this case, UC Davis–to perform timely and relevant research on behalf of the ADMC Program on an ongoing basis. These costs fall under the “Lab Testing” portion of HISA's budget, which covers all of the Program laboratories.” The post First Metformin Study Shows Drug Has “Prolonged Detection Time” appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

i agree with what  you say. cambridge,auckland,and southland can't continue in their current form . They need restructuring,whether it be their racing calendar or their venues.The betting product they often provide is simply not worth having a bet on.. its a total mystery why nz administrators think running more and more meetings at a loss ,is good for the industry long term.It makes no sense. the number that run at grass tracks will decline in the future. it a given that will happen. The declining numbers  being bred will flow through in years to come as will the aging trainers disappearing and the reducing number of licence holders.  The focus of hrnz has not been on this one area which generates a profit and the industry is certain to pay the price for losing the confidence of those who particpated at the likes of grass tracks.  your right about the same old horses that go around in southland .Some of those horses just get sick of racing or they are lined up  when their manners would say no,but they do it anyway. the only thing working in new zealaands favour is australian harness racing ,especially victoria,are going so poor they dont import as many new zealand horses. lowering the qualifying times would only work if they had a better handicapper/race programmer who catered for all levels.They don't so that won't help.And thats also partly because people realise its too costly to keep horses that don't earn money. perople breeding more? Thats never going to happen. Do people realise just how many mares people have got rid of in recent years. No one wants them and people who breed the bread and butter horses have felt left behind by current policy makers.. Its so sad. but thats the reality. the answer to fixing nz harness racing and making it sustainable,i believe is,  replacing current administrators with new administrators who look 5-10 years ahead and who recognise the importance of the  profit making sectors of the industry. Thats where it must start

Not to me. They are certainly getting on running their businesses, those participants that have businesses, but I certainly don't see or hear that they are not grizzling and not very worried for the most part. Stakes may be the highest ever but inflation adjusted stakes are only slightly higher than they were in the 90s and then they were paid for by racing's wagering earnings, not by the capital payments from the sale of the TAB operations.

Little Miss Curlin became the first black-type winner for freshman sire Charlatan (Speightstown) with a sharp performance in Friday's Donovan L. Ferguson Memorial S. at Fair Grounds. The 9-5 favorite battled through fractions of :21.69 and :46.09 and powered home to win by five lengths. The Coteau Grove Farms homebred previously won her debut, also versus fellow Louisiana-breds, by 4 1/4 lengths at Delta Downs Oct. 22. Little Miss Curlin's dam had a colt by Life Is Good in 2024 and a filly by Constitution this year. She was bred back to Wit. DONOVAN L. FERGUSON MEMORIAL S., $100,000, Fair Grounds, 11-21, (S), 2yo, f, 6f, 1:11.45, ft. 1–LITTLE MISS CURLIN, 122, f, 2, by Charlatan                 1st Dam: Mylady Curlin (MGSW, $805,883), by Curlin                 2nd Dam: Ladyledue, by Slewdledo                 3rd Dam: Exploded's Girl, by Exploded    1ST BLACK TYPE WIN. O/B-Coteau Grove Farms, LLC (LA); T-Patrick Devereux, Jr.; J-Jareth Loveberry. $60,000. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0, $85,800. 2–Wickedwithbourbon, 122, f, 2, Bobby's Wicked One– Betterwithbourbon, by Yankee Gentleman. 1ST BLACK TYPE. O/B-Picard Thoroughbreds Racing Stable, LLC (LA); T-J. Keith Desormeaux. $20,000. 3–Liteupthenite, 122, f, 2, Aurelius Maximus–City Gone Wild, by City Zip. ($15,000 Ylg '24 TTAYRL). O-Norman Stables LLC; B-Channon Farm, LLC (LA); T-Jayde J. Gelner. $11,000. Margins: 5, HF, HF. Odds: 1.90, 3.70, 4.80. Also Ran: Allons Betta Lee, El Sunshine, On the Horizon, Summers With Sonya, Swampy, Fly Strong. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV. The post Little Miss Curlin Becomes First Stakes Winner for Charlatan appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article