Even people who aren’t familiar with horse racing know that they’re high strung animals. For that reason what seems like an insignificant equipment change could be an issue for Triple Crown challenger I’ll Have Another at the Belmont Stakes. Belmont Park stewards won’t let him wear a nasal strip for the race.
The strip that I’ll Have Another wore in both the Preakness Stakes and the Kentucky Derby is similar to the ‘Breathe Right’ nasal strips worn by human athletes and sleep apnea sufferers. I’ll Have Another wears the Flair Equine Nasal Strip and also was so equipped in his wins in the Robert Lewis Stakes and Santa Anita Derby. Apparently racing stewards have decided not to allow nasal strips at New York tracks. Dr. Ted Hill, the Jockey Club steward at Belmont Park, said that they’ve reviewed the nasal strip issue on several occasions. The problem, he said, is how to regulate it:
“If it’s really going to help the horse that much, to be fair and consistent, we have to regulate it. That’s always been the issue.”
He says that there hasn’t exactly been a lot of demand for nasal strips from New York horsemen:
“We’ve never had someone say, ‘What can we do here because we’d like to use this product?’. There’s really been no push for it.”
I’ll Have Another’s trainer, Doug O’Neill, says that nasal strips are “a safe, natural piece of equipment for the horse” but he will “completely respect the New York rules and will not use one.”
Dr. James R. Chiapetta, who is a veterinarian who is the president of Flair LLC, the company that makes the equine strips attempted to lobby Belmont for their approval to no avail and says it’s an issue of well being for the horse:
“The strips make no more difference in the outcome of a race than do horseshoes, tongue ties, figure eight bridles, or other equipment horsemen are permitted to use. The strips, however, are designed to protect horses’ lungs so they can stay healthier.”
According to Chiapetta, the strips are a good alternative to drugs like Lasix and ““are scientifically proven to reduce lung bleeding and can reduce bleeding as much as the drug Lasix/Salix when horses are running to fatigue.”