European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - May 7, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse Saturday May 7. 1988 the stars and stripes Page 23 commentary horse Medicine off to the races open up the Medicine Chest in the barn of he Kentucky Derby Winner sunday morning and it can look like a pharmaceutical supermarket. Do the same thine next Moth at the bal Mon Slakes and in May Nave inc same medicines but they won t be in the system of the horse Olio lives there. At Casl they d belter not be. Thai s because thoroughbred trainers can admin Isicar Alt manner of Trues and medications to their horses in Kentucky and other slates but must run them clean elsewhere like new York. We arc probably one of the most Liberal states when it comes o permissible medications said or. Mike Bruc Stylc a veterinarian on the staff of the Ken Tucky stale racing commission. That will come of great interest to owner Peter Fuller and Trainer ism Cavalaris. Who. 20 years ago had their Derby Victory by dancer s image reversed because a banned substance was found in a Post race test. It s history said Cavalaris now the racing Secretary at Toronto s Woodbine track. And history is sometimes a l Valaris said he had administered the substance inc anti inflammatory Phenyl Butazoni commonly known As Bute to dancer s image Only once and that was five Days before the Derby Long enough for it to be Well out of the horse s system by race Day. He had an Adverse reaction to it so we stayed away from it after that the Trainer said. When he Learned that his horse s Post race spec Imen turned up positive Cavalaris said he was shocked. No More shocked however than Fuller. I remember the whole affair vividly the Boston Auto dealer said. We brought 65 people to the Derby. 1 remember How he was far behind the first time past the stands. I remember All my Friend looking at me As if to say is this what you brought us Down Here for i remember How Bobby us cry dropped his whip and hand Rode him through the stretch slapping Himon the neck. And i remember the Only Lime he got a Call from the track announcer was in the stretch. When the illegal drug finding was announced the fullers were on their Way Home. The headlines said Derby Winner drugged and the owners Over heard a Man mutter. They la do anything to win that who docs he mean Joan Fuller asked her Hus band. Thee and me Fuller said. Twenty care later Cavalaris and Fuller insist dancer s image was clean that there was either a mistake made in the specimen in fact a second lest was negative or something More sinister to my knowledge he did t have it Cavalaris said that made it easier for me to handle. I won Romany races it s ridiculous to think i d do anything illegal in a race like that they be never gotten to the Bol Tom of it Fuller said. It s an ongoing mystery. Everybody has a the Ory. My theory is it the disqualification s subsequent court challenges and appeals became Politi Cal t have no facts. 1 have Fuller and Cavalaris have not been Back to the Derby since that fateful 968 race. If they tier get id Louisville again they will find a distinctly More lenient medication policy than he one under which their horse ran. The Kentucky stale racing commission Dis tributes a list of 12 substances that arc permitted to be applied on race Day. They include Ami inflammatory drugs like Bute and acely salicylic acid which is nothing More than aspirin steroids and bleeder medication like Furo Schnide known around in barns As la six. Also permitted on race Day arc fluids. Minerals and vitamins. I have no problem with horses running on medi cation As Long Asil is open and everybody agrees on it As Long Ai we All arc operating on the same level or. Bruestle said. A h there Are purists who i l try to run on nothing More than Bay oals and water in new York they Don i have a Choice certain substances mostly Lina mints Are allowed in the Days before a race bul not on race Day. From a veterinarian s Point of View 1 would think it s belter for a horse to run clean said oilman longtime vet for the new York Rac ing association and now n state Steward. The whole problem is it s a shame we Don t have one drug Rule for All racing in America. In makes in hard for horsemen running from state to stale. In is a difficult problem nobody wants to a year ago Aly Sheba won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Slakes while running on Lasi. When the Colt was denied the medication in inc bal Mon. Be lost inc race and missed the triple Crown. Trainer Jack Van Ben insisted the absence of Lasin had nothing la do with inc disappointing race in new York but the coincidence could t be ignored despite Kentucky s lenient medication rules there were 22 cases in inc Sale last year where prohibited substances were found in horses. Fines were imposed and purses redistributed. Included Amon the chemical compounds found in horses systems were synthetic narcotics nicotine valium and even the Over the counter cough syrup Vocks formula 44 d. Bute and lasts arc inc two most commonly used substances on the track. Or. Brucille said their functions arc commonly misinterpreted. Bute is not a pain killer the veterinarian s Iid. It reduces swelling and inflammation to does not alter performance. H might gel a horse to its Poten tial but it won t get a horse past that potential. La six is not a masking a genl. It was five or 10 years ago. Bul not anymore. In controls bleeding. No one knows How it works bul in so trainers use the substances where they can and Fuller and Cavalaris shake their Heads Over he irony of the situation "1 Don t know anything about medication Fuller said. I Don l like to take aspirin myself but this thing has stayed with me a Long Lime. One night i went to the i healer and 01 the inter Mission a woman came up to me. She said she wonted to thank me. I asked her for whal and she said she had been troubled by a bad shoulder for years. She said she cured in by rubbing Bute on it. And then she said thank you for inventing it " Bourque comes to bruins1 defense by Robin finn Boston not Afler a Boston Bruin Victory Ray Bourque the do fun scan vrho balances the rarest of skills with the lunch pail mentality so highly prize among Boston Garden s Sites lumped at his locker. His face is drained strained and paled by Effort. His cheekbones made prominent by dehydration and fatigue cast unnatural shadows across his face. In the Barest of whispers he Speaks of his game winning goal in the opener of the National hockey league semifinals and is unapologetic for being Loo tired to Muster pos game bravado. Alicr a defeat like the one in overtime to the new Jersey devils Here wednes Day night Bourque sits familiarly slumped Ai his locker he is As drained and strained As Ever but his habitual Post game weariness is tinged from with in by a personal Demon. Bourque hates to lose bul he has enough self control to keep his angers like his triumphs Incheck and anyway after any game he s Loo exhausted to waste himself on emotion. When you in a perfectionist at your Job and hockey s my Job then you Havel give in everything you have because you know if you Don to you la make mis takes and you can t stand to make mis takes said Bourque. The Bruins the team that made him their tap pick in 1979, arc thriving be cause Bourque does t seem to be Able Coplay any other Way. He won the Calder trophy As out standing Rookie in his first season but had to Wail until last year to be honoured with the Norris trophy As the league s top def Anseman. He is without question the soul of his learn. He s one of the elite a super super Star said Ken Paneyko a devils de fun scan. You be got to treat him like anybody else take the body bul that easier said than done. He can play the game any Way he wants Bourque whose plus-15 rating is tops in inc payoffs would be the last person to single himself out As the reason for the Success of the Bruins. But his team plays certain Way because he is a certain kind of player and his teammates Aren t afraid to acknowledge it he raises the level of in Centre team when he s out there and he s almost always out there said Bob Joyce who joined the Bruins after the 1988 olym four previous years the Bruins de spite steady performances in inc regular season were hastily bumped from the play offs by Montreal where Bourquc went Home each summer to Field questions. All i would Ever hear were negatives about Boston he said. Everybody Al ways wanted to know what went for me meant frustration be cause deep Down inside. I knew whal was wrong. We never had a team Goodenough to beat Montreal. We usually challenged All year for first or second place in the division and then we d go to inc firs round and find ourselves on vacation after a Bourquc went to Camp after each Long summer with the same goal 10 be Able to spend his next vacation doing something besides defending inc Bruins for their springtime slumps bul this season when he saw Rajcan a Mclin hired to tend goal and Rookie def Anseman Glen Wesley along Side a healthy Cord Kluziak and Bourque started to feel belter. It was obvious that inc team tried to base its changes on what was needed to beat those Guys because to go anywhere we knew we had to beat those Guys said hour que. Referring to the Canad Icett like the rest of his icam mails Bour que attended sessions with a sports psychologist before the team player the canadians last month. He named to work on inc Way we All looked at those games the Way we face thai thing that was Montreal and slopped us so Many times said Bourque we wanted to be Able to think positive thoughts when we went into that alter icy dropped the first game to Montreal the players held a meeting. Sieve Kasper stood up and said Lati we d played our Best and gotten beaten then we had the right to be feeling even worse than we already did said Bour que. But we d played poorly so there was Hope for improvement the Bruins won four straight games Lou Seal Montreal a fear they had i accomplished since 1943, gelling ready for new Jersey said Bourque. Was no Don t gel along this far in the playoffs without a Good reason he said they were probably the Best team in inc league for the last is games of the season and they be certainly changed the name of Hal franchise for the but Bourquc s instincts Tell him not to allow this Serin to Chi aus him Fosnaught. Not 10 take anything away from the devils he said but 1 expect to win. And if everyone finds that Little bit extra we Boston s Ray Bourque. Devil series tied
