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URL: https://forum.thoroughbredvillage.com.au/forum_posts.asp?TID=64252 Printed Date: 23 Apr 2024 at 7:59pm Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 12.05 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Sea Snail VenomPosted By: Gay3
Subject: Sea Snail Venom
Date Posted: 09 Jul 2019 at 12:30pm
Racing officials suspect deadly sea snail venom used as illegal drug
By https://www.smh.com.au/by/adam-pengilly-11moxl" rel="nofollow - Adam Pengilly and https://www.smh.com.au/by/chris-roots-hvesq" rel="nofollow - Chris Roots
A deadly venom found in sea snails which can paralyse fish within a
second has emerged as the latest chemical suspected to have infiltrated
horse racing, with authorities scrambling to organise testing for the
powerful painkiller.
Racing NSW and Racing Victoria integrity
officials on Monday confirmed they had started screening for the mystery
drug, which has subtypes known to be infinitely stronger than morphine.
It can also be extracted to be used for therapeutic purposes on humans in the form of the conotoxin-based Prialt.
Racing
stewards have received intelligence that a form of sea snail venom has
been imported into Australia and used to manage pain in horses suspected
to have raced in both the thoroughbred and harness codes.
It is unclear in which state the latest fad is said to have emerged, but the Herald
understands multiple racing authorities have been tipped off about its
use and developed laboratory testing to weed out those who have dabbled
in the product.
The substance is not entirely new to the industry
and was understood to have been in use more than decade ago, but until
recently had not again been on the radar of racing officials.
It's understood to dissolve from a horse's system very quickly and can help numb any pain before heading to the racetrack.
Sea snails are generally found in the bottom of the ocean in tropical climates.
Racing
NSW said it had the ability to retrospectively test stored samples for
the substance. It hasn't yet confirmed any positive swabs stemming from
the chemical.
"When we get information we act on it and we have a screen for this drug now," Racing NSW chief executive Peter V'landys.
"At the moment it is not a part of the normal screening process, but we have the ability to target it and test for it."
RV
executive general manager of integrity Jamie Stier confirmed his
organisation had begun testing for the drug as part of its normal
screening process.
Australian scientists from several universities
have previously been working on developing new pain relief drugs using
the chemicals from sea snail venom, which can be administered when
morphine is no longer sufficient.
It has traditionally been
hazardous to use on humans given the bad side effects it can induce,
including hallucinations, memory loss and confusion.
But it is seen as a future alternative for pain relief given it is thought to be less addictive than opioid-based painkillers.
Researchers are hoping with more funding for trials conotoxins could be in clinical use within 10 years.
Venomous sea snails have been known to kill the nervous system of fish almost instantly before they eat their prey.
The
suspected infiltration of the chemical into horse racing is the latest
scourge for the industry, which earlier this year was rocked by the ban
to Australia's most prolific thoroughbred trainer Darren Weir for
possession of electrical shock devices.
Victorian-based Weir was rubbed out for four years and is still the subject of an ongoing police investigation.
Racing
NSW stewards are also investigating the finding of human growth hormone
(EPO) in a fridge at the property of Kembla Grange trainer Mick Tubman.
He has been stood down from training.
NSW Police have also charged a nurse from Wollongong Hospital with the alleged theft of EPO from the hospital.
SEA SNAIL VENOM
Sea
snail venom contains hundreds of peptides known as conotoxins, which
are used to cause paralysis or death. The chemical allows the venomous
snails, who are carnivorous, to prey on animals as large as fish.
When used in humans, the chemical produces an analgesic effect by stopping the transmission of nerve signals.
Only
one conotoxin-based painkiller, Prialt, is currently on the market, and
can only be injected into the spinal cord. The drug also has multiple
side effects such as hallucinations, memory loss and confusion, limiting
its use.
Multiple groups of Australian scientists are currently
working on a safe, oral version of the drug for humans, with recent
breakthroughs set to reduce the nation’s reliance on addictive
painkillers.
In 2010, Australian scientists injected venom from
the cone snail to a group of laboratory rats which resulted in a
reduction in pain "100 to 500" times more effective than commonly used
pain relievers such as morphine or gabapentin. Lead researcher of the
study David Craik says one of the biggest advantages is that the drug
uses "different receptors" in the brain in comparison to
highly-addictive opioids such as morphine. Sarah Keoghan
------------- Wisdom has been chasing me but I've always outrun it!
Replies: Posted By: Lordy
Date Posted: 09 Jul 2019 at 1:39pm
Can't wait for the first excuse for a positive swabs. "We take our horses to the beach so must have picked it up there".
Posted By: skippy123
Date Posted: 09 Jul 2019 at 2:09pm
[QUOTE=Lordy] Can't wait for the first excuse for a positive swabs. "We take our horses to the beach so must have picked it up there".[/QUOT Have to be a tropical area for that to apply...
Posted By: acacia alba
Date Posted: 09 Jul 2019 at 2:41pm
Queensland
------------- animals before people.
Posted By: linghi11
Date Posted: 09 Jul 2019 at 5:04pm
I’d say this miraculous snail has been everywhere! From Ballarat, Caulfield, Mornington and Euroa, to Rosehill, Warwick Farm and Randwick and Toowoomba. All those thoroughbreds who can barely canter in work and with pretrainers and then win races with their main trainers.
------------- to the victor
Posted By: Red Hare
Date Posted: 09 Jul 2019 at 5:27pm
If the aim is for the stuff to be used on humans... what if it’s a better alternative than all of the bute & corticosteroids that everyone is so happy to use?
Would hate to stifle any advancement in vet care.
Perhaps it is because the true cheaters rarely get their comeuppance, that we are so quick to judge those that are trying to extend the boundaries.
Posted By: Second Chance
Date Posted: 09 Jul 2019 at 5:41pm
linghi11 wrote:
I’d say this miraculous snail has been everywhere! From Ballarat, Caulfield, Mornington and Euroa, to Rosehill, Warwick Farm and Randwick and Toowoomba. All those thoroughbreds who can barely canter in work and with pretrainers and then win races with their main trainers.
No-one likes a cheat. So by all means identify the current cheats at Ballarat, Caulfield, Mornington, Euroa, Rosehill, Warwick Farm, Randwick and Toowoomba.
Lest you otherwise implicitly damn every trainer at those venues.
Posted By: skippy123
Date Posted: 09 Jul 2019 at 6:30pm
I don’t get the big deal- horses return positives to analgesics and anti inflammatories all the time and racing treats them as innocuous, they get fines for penalty....what is the difference
Posted By: Second Chance
Date Posted: 09 Jul 2019 at 6:43pm
So you're just blowing the wind as expected. Cheers.
Posted By: skippy123
Date Posted: 09 Jul 2019 at 7:02pm
Second Chance wrote:
So you're just blowing the wind as expected. Cheers.
Not at all.. I just find it strange that people picking and choosing between such compounds when historically racing does nothing for others with a similar/same effect.. Tell me what makes this one different? It’s (un)detectability? That it’s seemingly ‘new’? That it may be unregistered for use in horses? (I can list compounds that fit here) Adverse effects? Cheers
Posted By: Gay3
Date Posted: 09 Jul 2019 at 7:24pm
Firstly, Second Chance was replying to linghi, not you skippy. This latest find is probably creating more of a hue & cry due to its' quoted pain killing capacity of 50 - 100 that of morphine, assuming the scientists are correct. The stronger the pain killing effects, the more chance 'cripples' have of racing, winning & catastrophically breaking down. The stuff has been on the performance enhancing radar 10yrs+ so I do wonder why it's taken this long for powers-that-be to announce they're testing for it
------------- Wisdom has been chasing me but I've always outrun it!
Posted By: skippy123
Date Posted: 09 Jul 2019 at 7:38pm
No worries.... but my point does still stand- what works in humans may not in horses and vice versa... yes testing has been available for at least a decade (in horses too not just in humans) but I think peptides can be notoriously difficult to test for especially in urine.. I wonder if this new test is blood/plasma???
Posted By: linghi11
Date Posted: 09 Jul 2019 at 8:27pm
The difference skippy is that this is what kills horses on track. A bit lame racing - the horse saves itself. When it’s numb from these painkillers and runs like there’s no problem, the result can be quite tragic. Churning out cripples and paddock-unsound horses is not the way forward for this industry.
------------- to the victor
Posted By: Straight arrow
Date Posted: 09 Jul 2019 at 9:13pm
Been on the radar for 12/15 years
Posted By: Straight arrow
Date Posted: 09 Jul 2019 at 9:13pm
Not a new one
Posted By: acacia alba
Date Posted: 09 Jul 2019 at 10:15pm
Well thats a bit sad, SA, that if you knew this gelati has been around forever but didnt say so ? Masking pain in horses so cripples can race,,and break down,,and fall ??
How many jockeys have suffered , given this isnt a new one ??
Yet you are quite blaise about it ????
------------- animals before people.
Posted By: Straight arrow
Date Posted: 09 Jul 2019 at 10:33pm
Cannot present hear say to authorities ! You should know that
Posted By: acacia alba
Date Posted: 09 Jul 2019 at 11:59pm
Ummmmm,,,,???? No I dont ???
------------- animals before people.
Posted By: Batman
Date Posted: 10 Jul 2019 at 3:05am
linghi11 wrote:
I’d say this miraculous snail has been everywhere! From Ballarat, Caulfield, Mornington and Euroa, to Rosehill, Warwick Farm and Randwick and Toowoomba. All those thoroughbreds who can barely canter in work and with pretrainers and then win races with their main trainers.
Linghi, I know one of the best trackriders around, who was a good jockey for 25 years, and rides for one of these suspicious stables. He cannot believe that the horses can work so bad, then come out on Raceday and win by panels when well backed. Then a week or two later they run again and perform like their legs are tied together. It drives him crazy.
------------- “Gambling has brought our family closer together. We had to move to a smaller house.”
Posted By: Straight arrow
Date Posted: 10 Jul 2019 at 10:48am
A Alba ? If you want to run around and inform to authorities every thing you hear in a coffee shop or on a race track? See what the authorities and others think of you? I mentioned something I had heard about many years ago. I never put a name to it, there is a reason for that!
Posted By: Isaac soloman
Date Posted: 10 Jul 2019 at 11:24am
But you can spout away, anonymously, on a public forum, essentially egging others on....
Perhaps keep it to the coffee shop gossip.
Posted By: Gay3
Date Posted: 10 Jul 2019 at 12:56pm
The single word that best describes a forum for me is GOSSIP What else would we be here for?
------------- Wisdom has been chasing me but I've always outrun it!
Posted By: Straight arrow
Date Posted: 10 Jul 2019 at 2:40pm
That’s about right, gay3 I just pass on some idol gossip
Posted By: mc41
Date Posted: 10 Jul 2019 at 5:33pm
It Was frogs not long ago
Posted By: Gay3
Date Posted: 10 Jul 2019 at 5:40pm
Yes, frogs, snakes & plants too, this particular topic came to light simply thru' authorities announcing they finally have a test & suspect there are users............it's only taken upwards of 15 years but better late than never Meanwhile, back in the lab...............
------------- Wisdom has been chasing me but I've always outrun it!
Posted By: Isaac soloman
Date Posted: 10 Jul 2019 at 7:51pm
Gay3 wrote:
The single word that best describes a forum for me is GOSSIP What else would we be here for?
I prefer to learn stuff not listen to rubbish. Otherwise what could you ever believe in. Isn't that the problem with social media?
eg your posts re the horses at the sales yards, is it really true?
Thats why there are new rules.
Amateur photos don't lie Ask slowdown, he got one of his homebreds out!
Posted By: Nocturnal
Date Posted: 11 Jul 2019 at 10:23am
Mmm I wonder if this story has arisen from the rumours circulating of a positive for a Victorian trainers horse who have both been airborne. Can’t say too much but race was end of May and connections haven’t been paid yet .
------------- The only problem with backing winners ? You never have enough on....
Posted By: Discohips23
Date Posted: 11 Jul 2019 at 10:41am
Airborne to Perth?
Posted By: linghi11
Date Posted: 11 Jul 2019 at 11:33am
Was it a jumps race by any chance Noccy?
------------- to the victor
Posted By: Batman
Date Posted: 11 Jul 2019 at 12:43pm
linghi11 wrote:
Was it a jumps race by any chance Noccy?
Airborne 😂😂😂
------------- “Gambling has brought our family closer together. We had to move to a smaller house.”
Posted By: Nocturnal
Date Posted: 11 Jul 2019 at 1:23pm
No not a jumps race , some may refer to it as a jumpers flat . Sshhhh
------------- The only problem with backing winners ? You never have enough on....
Posted By: monty1
Date Posted: 11 Jul 2019 at 5:07pm
That wouldn’t be the race when the owners were going crazy after the race?
Posted By: Gay3
Date Posted: 11 Jul 2019 at 5:51pm
Coincidental appearance in my FB feed or don't we believe in them?
https://www.facebook.com/peter.sando.9?__tn__=%2CdC-R-R&eid=ARCN1UuVa4lfu019TQzGavZIv7Dsdy-SX38vbh2SkfSg_HoYhDFwB43UUtLbPkDMonBDMza59bHw_uNO&hc_ref=ARTjH0LVpiDluqqhdjUCMjqYyHIfW7bCuuhf4A_UWPFNXs7zcXQPxEqFi3EInWQK1do&fref=nf" rel="nofollow - Peter Sando ‎to https://www.facebook.com/groups/racingaustralia/?ref=nf_target&fref=nf" rel="nofollow - RaceHorses Australia
Steel Prince is more than just making up the numbers in the Melbourne cup .
He is by he same sire as Enable (Nathaniel) and his dam Has thrown out group 1 Winners in Europe. Makes me think the second horse Surprise Baby is Also very smart .
https://postimages.org/" rel="nofollow">
------------- Wisdom has been chasing me but I've always outrun it!
Posted By: early4lunch
Date Posted: 12 Jul 2019 at 11:11am
Retrospective swab testing is the key.Get every group placed horses swab,at the least and retest it That way nobody can claim victimisation and future temptation to try the newest things won't be so strong.
Posted By: Discohips23
Date Posted: 12 Jul 2019 at 11:17am
Set up a blood bank.
Posted By: Straight arrow
Date Posted: 12 Jul 2019 at 1:51pm
Produce a list of trainers showing irregularities! That will show what might be the true picture. Then it will become self regulated
Posted By: skippy123
Date Posted: 12 Jul 2019 at 2:13pm
Straight arrow wrote:
Produce a list of trainers showing irregularities! That will show what might be the true picture. Then it will become self regulated
Exactly- post all results- transparency will drive change and lead to better testing, science and understanding of compounds
Posted By: linghi11
Date Posted: 12 Jul 2019 at 2:37pm
Transparency. In racing.
------------- to the victor
Posted By: Majestic
Date Posted: 12 Jul 2019 at 7:35pm
linghi11; did you forget the ?????????
Posted By: Glencoe
Date Posted: 12 Jul 2019 at 8:04pm
I don't get the airborne bit. Please explain?
Posted By: linghi11
Date Posted: 12 Jul 2019 at 9:13pm
Majestic wrote:
linghi11; did you forget the ?????????
I thought the full stops carried my utter disbelief at the concept better
------------- to the victor
Posted By: Nocturnal
Date Posted: 12 Jul 2019 at 9:29pm
Airborne = flying Glencoe
------------- The only problem with backing winners ? You never have enough on....