http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/06/sports/othersports/06racing.html?ref=sports
Trainer Jeff Mullins administered cough medicine to a horse, Gato Go Win, before a race in the $200,000 Bay Shore and the horse was disqualified by the New Tork Racing Association. The cough medicine is called Air Power and is over-the-counter.
Being an equestrian, I understand such rules as necessary. There are many medicines which trainers will give their horse claiming one thing, but in fact, want increased performance, or pain numbing. However, do we really think that Gato Go Win would have performed any better than usual due to the cough medicine? The medicine would have brought him back to his normal, healthy self, not to Superman self.
This debate reminds me of how we see our professional sports players are almost God-like; how we expect them to be perfect and talented without any help whatsoever. But at what point do we put too much pressure on our athletes, whether humans or horses, to perform at 100% when they are not feeling 100%? If Derek Jeter, captain and starting short stop for the NY Yankees had a headache, would we really deny him an Aspirin, claiming that it is a performance enhancer?
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