The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC), as a member of the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA), today applauded the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission’s historic decision taken on Wednesday 13 June, 2012 to eliminate the use of the anti-bleeder drug furosemide, commonly known as Salix or Lasix, from all graded and listed black-type races by 2016.

Horseracing in North America has long stood alone among major racing jurisdictions in allowing horses raceday medication and Kentucky is the first US racing jurisdiction to ratify a Lasix ban.

“This is a progressive and internationally welcomed move by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission and one which the Hong Kong Jockey Club fully supports and applauds,” said Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges (pictured), Chief Executive Officer of the HKJC and Vice Chairman of the IFHA.

“Kentucky is the heartbeat of the American breeding industry and home to the Kentucky Derby. It is, therefore, fitting that the Bluegrass State has broken ranks and pushed through this groundbreaking measure. I hope that this is the first step towards full global harmonization on the issue of raceday medication.”

The Kentucky plan will ban Lasix in all two-year-old graded and listed black-type races beginning in 2014. The ban will extend to three-year olds in 2015, leading to Lasix’s complete elimination from all black-type Kentucky races by 2016.