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'It can't hurt' Lukas' horses to wear nasal strips
Posted: Friday May 05, 2000 06:22 PM
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- At least two horses, the D. Wayne Lukas-trained High Yield and Commendable, will wear nasal strips Saturday, the first time that has been done in the Kentucky Derby. Nasal strips assist breathing and are worn by professional athletes and snoring spouses. The company CNS Inc. began marketing the strips for thoroughbreds last year. According to Equibase, the thoroughbred racing statistics service, 8,402 horses wore the strip between Oct. 23 and April 24, of which 1,077 were winners. Because a horse breathes only through its nose, the soft outer tissue of the nasal passage can close when the animal inhales hard during strenuous exercise. The drug-free strip is attached over the horse's nostrils, held in place by a special adhesive. The strip's spring like action holds the nasal passages open so the horse does not have to struggle for breath. Lukas' Cat Thief wore a strip in winning the Breeders' Cup Classic by 1 1/4 lengths last November. Another Lukas horse, Cash Run, won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. "It can't hurt and it might help, so why wouldn't I use it," Lukas said. Twenty-nine of 101 horses wore the strip during the Breeders' Cup. Three were winners, including Kentucky Derby hopeful Anees in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile, two placed and three showed. The strip for humans looks like a small adhesive bandage over the bridge of the nose. The strip for horses is much larger -- about 4 by 6 inches -- but is light and does not distract the horses. Twenty-nine of the 35 states that have racetracks allow the strips. The six still reviewing the strips are New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Virginia and Wyoming.
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