The following feedback was submitted by a high profile owner/breeder in Australia. They have asked for their name not to be disclosed:

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I wished to make a few comments about Messara's response to your piece re Lasix/bleeders.

Messara criticises the rules of racing for not providing a clear policy statement about drugs. I should have thought that the rules is the last place one should find a policy statement. They are simply the rules, not a mission statement or the reasons or policies behind the rules. Policy is more the province of the ARB or Racing NSW or Victoria or some body like that. A small point, but he makes the criticism and it is an unwarranted one.

He talks of "normalising" drugs. However, he doesn't define what he considers a normalising drug to be. If a horse has an injury or a naturally occurring condition which would cause it to run slower than normal, or not be able to compete at all, then Messara's "normalising" drug which enables it to compete is in fact a "go fast" drug, because the horse wouldn't be able to go that fast without the drug.

Racing, like the Olympics, is about who is the fastest horse on a level playing field i.e. without the assistance of drugs. One of Sunline's great attributes was her soundness which enabled her to race Autumn and Spring for many seasons. Conversely, Kingston Town's "achilles heel" as it were, was his unsoundness.

If a horse is predisposed to bleeding which affects its athletic performance, then that horse either should not compete or, if he does compete, should have to deal with the naturally occurring affliction from which he suffers. Sunline didn't bleed, didn't go sore, could stand the rigors of tough G1 racing year in, year out. That's why she was a champion, and other less robust horses were/are not

A thing which you might like to investigate is the potential masking capabilities of procaine, his so called "normalising" drug. Masking drugs are a scourge of all sports.

Messara doesn't explain why he considers it illogical to for the detection level to automatically become the reporting level. That's the criterion for the Olympics. Why shouldn't it be the criterion for horses ?

In describing the effects of Lasix, he puts his foot in it. If 70% of horses bleed, then bleeding is normal. A horse who copes well with the condition normally runs faster than a horse who doesn't. Administering Lasix creates an entirely abnormal situation.

It's analogous to that fact that lots of human athletes suffer from lactic acid build up on exertion. Coping with lactic acid build up is part of the sporting endeavour. Giving every human a "milkshake" to delay the onset of and reduce the incidence of lactic acid build up would be to abnormalise the situation.

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More feedback (another person wishing to remain anonymous) as follows:

I wonder if Messara's views re Lasix have been coloured by the fact that he paid $3M for Alinghi who is a bleeder ?

Lasix has done nothing to improve field sizes in America - they are smaller now than they were prior to its introduction.

If we follow the States, we just end up with all our horses running on Lasix and Bute. Why not have 'em all running without it instead ? That's gotta be better for the horses, hasn't it ?

Bute is a painkiller. All it does is allow a horse to perform to its optimum - it doesn't make him go any faster. What's the difference between permitting a horse with a puncture wound to be treated with something which allows him to run when he would otherwise be scratched and permitting a horse with chronic knee problems to be treated with Bute and run in the same race ?

Neither is having his performance enhanced.

Next thing you know, you've got trainers running 2yos on Bute to cover up shin soreness and all manner of things.

Allowing that doesn't assist in maintaining horse and jockey safety.

A horse who sick or injured to the point where he cannot race without some chemical assistance shouldn't race at all. By all means give him the chemical assistance he needs to get over whatever it is that ails him, but don't make him run while he is getting over it. If the injured horse could talk and you asked him if he wanted to run when he sick or sore, I have a fair idea what his answer would be. Then again, I guess most horses would give the same answer all the time, sick or not.

My view is we are best served by ensuring no cracks in our anti drug bulwark.

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