Anti-Bleeding Drug Ban Fails

{Lexington, Kentucky}...A proposal to ban an anti-bleeding drug on race days in Kentucky lost by a nose on Monday. The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission ended a tense discussion on the use of furosemide with a 7-7 roll call vote on the proposed regulation that would have prohibited the drug from the Kentucky Derby in 2014, and in the whole state starting in 2015. The race-day ban would have first applied to 2 year olds racing in 2013. The proposal would have made Kentucky the first state to ban race-day use of furosemide, marketed under the brand names Lasix or Salix. The drug is used to treat pulmonary hemorrhaging in racehorses. Furosemide is the only medication allowed to be given to horses on race day in the United States. Its use is banned in other countries because it enhances performance.