BREEDERS' CUP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

October 27, 2001

C. Wayne McIlwraith

DR. C. WAYNE McILWRAITH: Exogenous, when she reared up backwards, she sustained an injury to the base and skull. She did have some neurologic signs and couldn't get up. She also caught her right hind leg in the rail and so that had to be removed. She has been treated with Sol-Delta-Cortef, which is a steroid which we give for spinal injuries and had to be sedated to get her on the ambulance. So she was sedated with Solodine and Cantamine and she's now being taken back. She's back off the ambulance and she's being treated with some other medications for, you know, spinal trauma.

DR. C. WAYNE McILWRAITH: She is still prone at this point. She did show signs of wanting to get up, but we needed to sedate her to get her on the ambulance. So she needs to recover from that, but she'll come through that sedation, you know, in 20 minutes or so.

DR. C. WAYNE McILWRAITH: No. There was no injury to the leg. We were able to get that back through between the rail.

DR. C. WAYNE McILWRAITH: It's a trade name. It's actually capital S O L U-capital D-E-L-T-A-capital C-O-R-T-E-F. It's the most rapid acting corticosteroid we have available.

DR. C. WAYNE McILWRAITH: I understand she's taken back to the barn, trainer barn, so she can be placed in the stall. It's easier for her to get up in there.

DR. C. WAYNE McILWRAITH: No, it was on the initial fall when she went over backwards. I didn't see it but I understand that she hit the base of her skull on the ground.

DR. C. WAYNE McILWRAITH: Well, it's like a bit like a whiplash injury when she falls over because the brain sort of gets slammed against the back of the skull with the impact and that will create inflammation and fluid. So the purpose of the corticosteroid is to reduce that fluid exudation from the brain.

DR. C. WAYNE McILWRAITH: No, we don't know. Based on her position when we got to her, I would say it hit the ground.

DR. C. WAYNE McILWRAITH: It's definitely life-threatening. We never have any idea as to what degree of neuro damage there is. Based on her clinical signs she has what's called in nastagmus which is the eye going backwards. That's a sign of some injury, but she did not have severe neurological signs. Like there was really severe damage, so that's all we can really say at this stage. Basically we're going to know based on response therapy.