Many of North America's top Thoroughbred trainers are backing a plan to eliminate the use of race-day medication in the United States beginning next season.

In a release issued the afternoon of Aug. 1, 25 prominent trainers said they would favor a plan to gradually eliminate race-day medication in the United States. Currently the only medication permitted to be administered on race day is furosemide (marketed as Salix and commonly referred to as Lasix), which has been used to prevent or lessen the severity of exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage (EIPH).

The group of horsemen includes multiple Eclipse Award winner Todd Pletcher and Racing Hall of Fame trainers Roger Attfield, Neil Drysdale, D. Wayne Lukas, Richard Mandella, Shug McGaughey, Bill Mott, and Jonathan Sheppard. The proposal they are backing would prohibit race-day medication for 2-year-olds next year; in 2016 no horses would be permitted to receive race-day medication.

In addition, the group is supportive of the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium's (RMTC) efforts to approve model rules for 26 controlled medications by the Association of Racing Commissioners International board of directors