Some of Thoroughbred racing’s most notable owners–including Roy and Gretchen Jackson, Josephine Abercrombie, Bill Casner, Robert Clay, William S. Farish, Barry Irwin and Team Valor International, Darley and Shadwell Stables, and Frank Stronach–are among individuals who have pledged to race their 2-year-olds of 2012 without furosemide and adjunct bleeder medications, the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (TOBA) announced July 19.

"The use of race-day medications has grown to the point where nearly every horse in every race is being treated just hours before they go to the saddling paddock," said TOBA chairman Peter S. Willmott. "This practice is not in the long-term best interests of the horse, nor is it the proper message we need to communicate with our fans if we wish to increase the popularity of the sport.We should all take steps to reverse the use of race-day medication and at this time the best way is to encourage like-minded owners to race their 2-year-olds medication-free."

Other owners who will not run their 2-year-olds on furosemide and adjunct bleeder medications are Willmott, Antony Beck, Gary Biszantz, James Bryant, Nelson Clemmens, Dennis Dale, Shawn Davis, Adele Dilschneider, Karl and Andrea Donaghy, John D. Gunther, Arthur Hancock III, Seth Hancock, Stuart S. Janney III, Corey Johnsen, Juddmonte Farm, Jon and Sarah Kelly, William Koester, Magdalena Racing, Helen Masek, Reiley McDonald, Michael J. McMahon, Ro Parra, John W. Phillips, Ogden Mills Phipps, Dr. J. David Richardson, Fred Seitz, Bill Shively, George Strawbridge Jr., Waterfalls Stable, and Woodford Racing. Horses with fractional ownership may be excluded by prior agreement.

"The original purposes of permitted race-day medication were to treat horses that overtly bled from the nose and to provide a larger pool of horses available for entry at a time when racing was proliferating," said owner Casner, who has campaigned notable horses such as 2010 Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver, Well Armed, and Colonel John, among others."Trainers and veterinarians soon recognized that horses that raced on furosemide could have a competitive advantage, and now almost all horses are being diagnosed as bleeders. Racing commissions, in an effort to level the playing field and eliminate this advantage, relaxed their rules to allow furosemide for any horse