Race-day furosemide increases risk of sudden death in racehorses, study finds

horsetalk.co.nz – Study explored risk factors for sudden death among racehorses in North America.

American Thoroughbred racehorses given furosemide on race day were at 62% increased odds of sudden death compared to those not racing on the medication, researchers report.

The study, led by the University of Glasgow and published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medicine Association, also found multiple other risk factors associated with sudden death, related to the circumstances of the race and the individual histories of the horses.

Researchers Euan Bennet and Tim Parkin based their findings on data extracted from the Equine Injury Database, which holds detailed records of 92.2% of all official race starts made in the United States and Canada during the study period, from 2009 to 2021.

Their analysis involved 4,198,073 race starts made by 284,387 Thoroughbred horses at 144 North American racetracks.