Lasix

Q.My husband takes coated aspirin, furosemide and vitamins. He has just purchased a big package of licorice twists, which he loves. Did I read in your column that licorice can interfere with medicines? I am a bit concerned. A. Your concern is justified. Natural black licorice contains glycyrrhizin, an herbal ingredient that can deplete the body of potassium. In combination with a potassium-wasting diuretic furo-semide (Lasix), this could lead to a life-threatening situation. If potassium levels sink too low, heart rhythm may be disrupted.

ELMONT, N.Y. -- So far, this much has been established about the 1991 Triple Crown horses: Hansel's winning race in the Preakness was by far the most impressive for any 3-year-old this year.And, because of that, the colt is the one to beat in today's 123rd Belmont Stakes -- Lasix or no Lasix.Trainer Frank Brothers repeatedly has refused to discuss Lasix, which he and others consider a non-issue. Brothers has used a stock line -- "We are happy with our situation coming into the race" -- whenever the subject arises.

LAUREL -- Instead of seeking medication rules similar to those in nearby states, the Maryland Racing Commission is taking a position of leadership.If commissioners in Delaware, New Jersey and West Virginia want rules similar to Maryland's, they will have to make changes.The long-range planning for new Maryland rules involves the diuretic sold under the trade name Lasix. Maryland commissioners envision two rules that are contrary to those of the other states:* They want to continue use of the detention barn in which all horses treated with Lasix must be sent before a race.

Maryland horse racing got exposed for a lack of oversight Tuesday during an appeal to have the Rick Dutrow-trained King and Crusader reinstated as the winner of the $75,000 Maryland Juvenile Championship at Laurel Park. Dutrow and his horse's owner James Riccio lost the appeal, but Maryland horse racing may have lost more, as officials at Laurel Park were found to have not followed all of the proper procedures on the night of that December race. "I'm stabled at Laurel Park," said John Robb, the trainer of Glib, the second-place finisher who was declared the winner of the Juvenile Championship.

Five horses were scratched from the seventh race at Pimlico Race Course yesterday when it was discovered a veterinarian treated the animals with the wrong medication.James Stewart, a veterinarian in private practice, administered the painkiller Butazolidin, commonly known as "Bute," instead of pTC the anti-bleeding agent, furosemide or Lasix, when the horses were sent to the detention barn to receive the prescribed medication.Lasix, used to prevent horses from bleeding through theirnostrils or internally from exertion during a race, is a legal drug frequently used at Maryland tracks.

LAUREL -- Absolutely Great gave a hint of greatness when winning yesterday's allowance feature at Laurel Race Course by 12 1/2 lengths.Ridden by Mike Luzzi, the filly led all the way when making her first start for trainer Eddie Gaudet after a six-race career in New York. The filly received the bleeder medication Lasix yesterday for the first time; the diuretic is banned in New York.The victory was the first for Luzzi since he won the $350,000 Brooklyn Handicap at Aqueduct on Saturday aboard Timely Warning.

Sloppy tracks often produce long-shot winners, but two fillies in Laurel Park stakes yesterday scored decisive wins as the heavy favorites on a wet strip and will now go after richer purses.Secret Prospect, the 9-5 choice, led wire-to-wire in the Fair Star Stakes and earned a spot in the starting lineup of the Dec. 2 Heavenly Cause Stakes, which is nearly double in value of yesterday's $37,475 race.Delaware Handicap winner Night Fax, who is bred to run marathon distances, pulled her jockey, Jeff Carle, to the lead around the final turn and held on for a 1 3/4 -length win in the Nobiliary Stakes at 1 1/4 miles.

When Cigar is crowned Horse of the Year on Feb. 9 in San Diego, the Pons family of Bel Air will share heavily in the accomplishment. Cigar won 10 straight races and $4,819,800 last year."

Their great showdown should have taken place in the 1990 Belmont Stakes, but 51 weeks after Unbridled last faced Summer Squall, it is better this way. The focus this time will be on racing, not a raging controversy that unfairly tainted their greatest triumphs.Both horses are expected to race with Lasix in Saturday's Pimlico Special, just as they did when Unbridled won last year's Kentucky Derby and Summer Squall last year's Preakness. The sound and the fury over their use of the drug has faded.

Pimlico Race Course stewards said yesterday that it is OK for Alydeed to race on Lasix in the Preakness.But Roger Attfield, trainer of the horse, said it is still uncertain whether the 3-year-old Canadian-bred colt will be shipped to Maryland.Questions about Alydeed's Lasix eligibility surfaced after Attfield planned to run the horse today in the Illinois Derby at Sportsman's Park near Chicago.Illinois stewards said the horse couldn't run on Lasix in that state since Alydeed had bled after a workout at Woodbine Race Course in Toronto on May 4. Attfield then did not enter the horse in the Illinois race.