LIFE> Odds and Ends
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LIFE> Odds and Ends
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Polo player links supplement to horse deaths
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-04-23 10:31
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Twenty-one prized polo horses that mysteriously died before one of the sport's top championships were given a supplement that likely caused their deaths, the leader of the Venezuelan-owned team told an Argentine newspaper. Juan Martin Nero, of Lechuza Polo, told the newspaper La Nacion for Wednesday's editions that the horses were given a supplement known as Biodyl, which contains a combination of vitamin B12, a form of selenium called sodium selenite and other minerals. It is made in France by Duluth, Ga.-based animal pharmaceutical firm Merial Ltd. and can be given to horses to help with exhaustion. It is not approved for use in the United States, but is widely used elsewhere. It remained unclear whether the Lechuza team used the brand name drug or a copy of it made by a compounding pharmacy in the U.S., which the Food and Drug Administration said could be illegal. Compound pharmacies can, among other things, add flavor, make substances into a powder or liquid or remove a certain compound that may have an adverse reaction in different animal species. They cannot legally recreate a drug that is not approved in the U.S. Florida authorities have started an investigation to determine if the deaths were intentional or accidental, but so far nothing criminal has surfaced. Toxicology tests are pending, and officials said they would add Biodyl to the list after hearing the reports from Nero. "For us, the suspicions are that there was something wrong in the laboratory. They are common vitamins, that are not given to improve performance, but so they recover from exhaustion," Nero told the newspaper in Spanish. "We don't have doubts of the origin of the problem. There were five horses that were not given the vitamin and they are the only ones that are fine." The horses began collapsing Sunday as they were unloaded from trailers at the International Polo Club Palm Beach. Some died at the scene, others hours later. The team was seen as top contenders for the U.S. Open tournament. "What was given to them is the same as always, vitamins," Nero said. "Once a week. It was just the time to give them the dose the day of the match." The Associated Press has been unable to reach Nero or the team's owner, prominent Venezuelan banker Victor Vargas, who has not spoken publicly since the deaths. Merial spokesman Steve Dickinson said the company is confident its product is safe. "We've had reports of pharmacies compounding a copycat Biodyl in the past, which is of course illegal," Dickinson said. |
