Nicky Henderson Found Guilty

Salbutemol or more commonly called Ventipulmin is widely used in racing usually when a horse has been coughing - nothing sinister about its use. There is obviously a withdrawal period before it can run though which I would presume is why Paco Boy tested positive for it.
 
So I guess the distinction to be made is the use by Henderson of the drug on the day of the race, as opposed to a cock-up over withdrawal times, which we might assume to have been the case with Paco Boy (and possibly even the Martin horse)?
 
Ah yes Ventipulmin is probably used in every yard.

Yes Gareth, along with the fact he lied and tried to cover up its use in the medical book. Also it sounds like TA is something that shouldn't be used as its effets only last a few hours therefore it means taking it on the day.
 
Yes, I think so, but it's not right that we should have to assume these things, we should be able to read a proper account of the findings.

Incidentally Royally County Star opened at 10/1 and drifted to 14/1 in the Navan race he was disqualified from.
 
Ventipulmin doesn't contain salbutamol; its active ingredient is clenbutarol, a different drug but one which is of a similar family to salbutamol and has similar effects.

I have an issue with the amount of ventipulmin and sputolosin used so commonly in racehorses. Although I have no evidence to back it up I am of the opinion that the overuse of it (along with too many scopes being carried out) could be weakening the animals airways and leaving them more susceptible to infection. I may be wrong but I'm pretty sure Ventipulmin and Sputolosin are both steroidal (I'm not entirely sure on this one) and I believe that overuse could well make them more susceptible to infections and reduce the effectiveness of the drug next time around, much the same as an over-use of antibitotics.
 
Interesting that you mention this SL as looking through the google links one of the side effects of Salbutamol in humans was the weakening of the trachea (presume it would have similar effects in horses) and as such could make problems worse
 
I believe a lot of the substances inhaled to prevent asthma do weaken the airways to some extent, especially the steroidal ones, such as Becotide, Symbicort and others.* I've been prescribed various steroidal inhalers on a daily basis (including the two named) but since the asthma I have doesn't really affect me much I prefer to stick to the Ventolin as and when I need it. I tend to have to go on something stronger when I develop a cough (at least an annual happening!) as it quickly develops into a respiratory tract infection and I receive bollockings from the doctor for not taking something regularly. Last time around I ended up on Symbicort for a month or so but I'd prefer not to take steroids on a daily basis, not least since I'm taking enough crap as it is!!!!

*hence why I strongly believe that it must have similar effects on horses.
 
It looks like their all cutting deals with the BHA, who has what on who I wonder. Last week the announcement was that Henderson would have got the same diciplinary whether he admitted it or not. Yet this week Lynch has had his reduced and he lied in the Old Bailey. Something doesn't figure.
 
What is that rubbish? Who is Globeform? I certainly recognise the mugshot of the bloke at the top though as someone I've seen about a lot. I can't take any article seriously that is littered with spelling mistakes I'm afraid, and after rougue [sic] and Huntigdon [sic] I gave up when I started reading about the vet, James Man [sic].

If you want to be taken seriously as a publication, for God's sake publish something that reads semi-professionally at least, not littered with spelling mistakes.
 
I take a daily tablet (Uniphyllin) as an asthma inhibitor. I also take Symbicort from October through to Easter but I had to reduce the dose from two to one inhalation per day as I felt it was making my throat sensitive. That's the last thing I need when I have to 'project' my voice for several hours a day.

I do, though, reckon a wee bit too much is made of the alleged effects of 'overuse' of steroidal and/or antibiotic medication. Before I got my tonsils out I was on five or six courses of antibiotics a year. I've been on more steroids than Fatima Whitbread. I gave up asking the doc about long-term use because he kept telling me the levels of steroids and antibiotics in prescription medicines are too low to have adverse long-term effects - I'd have to take them till I was 150 years old - and the short-term benefits far otuweigh them.
 
Ah, but were you to be a professional athlete would you be as happy to take such drugs on a regular basis, knowing that they would probably make some difference to your lung capacity when performing at high levels?

I am convinced that these drugs weaken airways to some extent - I'm not worried about my own, as DO says the effects are probably minimal, but then again I'm not a 200m sprinter. I've observed the effects of racehorses receiving increased amounts of ventipulmin and sputolosin, as well as being scoped with increasing regularity, and I am firmly of the opinion that the more they receive, the more they need, and my observations and experiences over the years also suggest to me that such animals become more susceptible to lung infections.
 
Shadow Leader said:
What is that rubbish? Who is Globeform? I certainly recognise the mugshot of the bloke at the top though as someone I've seen about a lot. I can't take any article seriously that is littered with spelling mistakes I'm afraid, and after rougue [sic] and Huntigdon [sic] I gave up when I started reading about the vet, James Man [sic].

If you want to be taken seriously as a publication, for God's sake publish something that reads semi-professionally at least, not littered with spelling mistakes.
Click to expand...

Here here!
 
Shadow Leader said:
Ah, but were you to be a professional athlete would you be as happy to take such drugs on a regular basis, knowing that they would probably make some difference to your lung capacity when performing at high levels?

I am convinced that these drugs weaken airways to some extent - I'm not worried about my own, as DO says the effects are probably minimal, but then again I'm not a 200m sprinter. I've observed the effects of racehorses receiving increased amounts of ventipulmin and sputolosin, as well as being scoped with increasing regularity, and I am firmly of the opinion that the more they receive, the more they need, and my observations and experiences over the years also suggest to me that such animals become more susceptible to lung infections.
Click to expand...

Agreed. It also gives false impressions etc. in terms of true ability when it comes to breeding and therefore consistiently throws any potential problems back into the genetic and or training base whether by nurture or nature.
 
Second bottle of wine now talking:

To all you who believe that drug testing all NH’s runners over the next few years is unworkable - of course its workable.

The BHA could nominate a vet, at NH’s own cost, who would oversee any medication/recording carried out in his stable and thence the drug testing on the course (Cost perhaps £500,000). Too much you say, too intrusive you say – NH is a bloody royal trainer and having been found out he needs to make appropriate reparation.

If other trainers consider that equivalent intrusion should they be found out, I would think that they will think things through very carefully!

I believe that the BHA made a reasonable decision in terms of the punishment – it is upto NH to go the extra mile should he wish to. If he doesn’t then he and his prestigious owners will forever risk carrying the label of tarnishing a wonderful sport.

Should NH accede to this course of action then we should all get behind him and the BHA and show that being found out and admitting guilt is the start of something rather than the end.


Opening bottle #3 now, MR2
 
James Main, who administered a banned substance to a horse at Nicky Henderson's stable on the morning of a race but refused to attend a subsequent disciplinary hearing, has resigned from his role as adviser to the National Trainers' Federation.
Main will no longer sit as the NTF's representative on the British Horseracing Authority's Veterinary Committee and will also lose his position on the BHA's Counter Analysis Committee
Click to expand...
 
It'd be hard to see how he could've continued to sit in on any future judgments of similarly errant vets, or be taken seriously as an adviser to trainers, isn't it? I'm sure it was expected that he'd do this as the more gracious exit, rather than being handed his cards.
 
Very much so,and even more of a joke was the RP doing one of those features last week on his horses to follow taken from his owners' open day.

Whereas it looks like Karl Burkes' ban will affect him (The Gittins horses in the main apart from Lord Shanakill are now in Ireland and one of them won a group race last week),Henderson has lost nothing with only Terramarique,Caracciola,Major Miller and a couple of others running for other trainers during his absence.
 
Back
Top