The line about therapeutic medication to produce a fit, healthy equine athlete and a drugged-up superstar, capable of pedalling or galloping forever is being argued. "Horse racing is an industry in transition," wrote Dr Scott Palmer, an internationally known equine surgeon and practitioner, following the Breeders' Cup forum entitled ''Racing medication and its 'shades of gray.'" Palmer has served on the Task Force on Racehorse Health and Safety and is a former president of the American Association of Equine Practitioners. "It is a sport with a rich tradition but is competing for relevance in today's culture. Scrutiny from the public is greater and horse racing is struggling to redefine itself. "A number of controversial issues - particularly medication and injuries - were spotlighted [last year] in the national media and before Congress. Racehorse medication is the flashpoint … "

No doubt the US fuel, of a super nature but barred in Australia, is permitted. However, drug (or medication) law is getting tougher there. Sure, dirt racing takes more a toll on thoroughbreds than turf and slack has been cut for US trainers. However, Rick Dutrow jnr recently had what could be his final appeal turned down regarding being outed for 10 years after syringes containing a painkiller and a sedative were found in his desk. The painkiller butorphanol - an opioid analgesic - was found in a urine sample of his charge Fastus Cactus in 2010 after he won at Aqueduct. Dutrow was also fined $50,000. By Palmer's reckoning, veterinarians are at the centre of the medication controversy. "How much medication is too much medication?'' he asked. "This is an ill-conceived question that oversimplifies the medication discussion … there is no correct or incorrect number to indicate how much is too much. "Appropriate use of any medication should be based on the findings of a thorough diagnostic examination in the context of a valid client-veterinarian-patient relationship. Veterinarians are professionals but in any profession we don't always do the right thing … "

Sydney has been fortunate to have outstanding vets, headed by Percy Sykes, who has put a lifetime into the turf with knowledge and science. Yet there was a strong move last year to license veterinarians under the web of the rules of racing. "Most veterinarians who work at the racetrack love horses," Palmer said. "Some might even say that they feel a stronger affinity for the horses themselves than they do for the people … Is money part of the problem? Absolutely … You can't understand the medication issue in racing without appreciating the dynamics of the owner-trainer-veterinarian relationship." What is it they say about owners: treat them like mushrooms, keep them in the dark and covered by horse manure? "The horse owner needs to set the tone for this relationship," Palmer said, taking a different view. ''The owner is the CEO of this operation. At the start, owners must decide how much involvement they want to have in this business relationship. "Do they want to set a budget, do they want to be involved in the selection of the veterinarian who treats their horses. Do they want to be involved with treatment decisions and therapy options? Are they in their comfort zone in this role?"

I just can't imagine Tommy Smith being told by an owner what vet he wanted. In fact, they couldn't even suggest a jockey. "Remember who is the top of all of the owner-trainer-veterinary schematics," Palmer said ''The single most important thing an owner can do to reduce the cost of veterinary services is to hold a face-to-face meeting with his trainer and veterinarian and clearly define his expectations for professional services for his horses." Palmer acknowledged dermorphin. "The dermorphin issue caught the industry off-guard in term of scope of the problem and gaps in the regulatory infrastructure to prosecute the cases and regulate behaviour of veterinarians. " He maintains ''due consideration be given to the obvious distinctions between therapeutic overages, repeated violations and use of prohibited medications". Loading

Meanwhile, in Oklahoma a quarter-horse trainer, Roberto Sanchez-Munoz, has been banned for 100 years, 80 of them suspended, in the latest penalty handed down on frog juice. The Oklahoma Racing Commission also fined him $100,000 after 10 different positives came up for the class-one drug in his horses at Remington Park. Since the key to detecting the drug was developed last year, positives have cropped up in "lower-grade'' and quarter horses in Louisiana, Nebraska and New Mexico as well.