The parent company of Laurel Park in Maryland on Thursday sent a letter to the state’s racing commission informing the commission that it plans to begin writing races for 2-year-olds that would prohibit the administration of furosemide within 24 hours of the race. The letter states that Laurel would begin attaching the restrictions to the races after the June 25 meeting of the Maryland Racing Commission, and that the track was informing the commission of its intentions “should it believe any further action is required.” The letter also states that Laurel believes it can attach the conditions to the races “consistent with the permissive language” of an existing racing regulation that deals with the administration of furosemide, a diuretic known as Lasix that is currently legal to administer in all U.S. states on raceday in order to mitigate bleeding in the lungs. The letter states that Laurel intends to attach a specific condition to the 2-year-old races to make the races open only to “horses that do not elect to declare the use of Lasix.” The specific rule cited by the letter states that the administration of Lasix is “permissible” if a trainer declares the use of Lasix at the time of entry, among other conditions. Michael Hopkins, the executive director of the Maryland Racing Commission, said on Thursday that the commission had received the letter but would have no comment until its legal staff reviews the arguments advanced by The Stronach Group, the parent company of Laurel Park. :: Start earning weekly cashback on your wagering today. Click to learn more. The Stronach Group owns a large number of racetracks in the U.S., and it has already begun writing 2-year-old races that do not allow for the administration of Lasix within 24 hours of a race at several of its tracks, specifically at Gulfstream Park in Florida and Santa Anita Park in California. A number of other racetracks have also begun the same practice, including Belmont Park in New York, Tampa Bay Downs in Florida, and Churchill Downs in Kentucky, and other tracks have stated that they intend to attach similar conditions to 2-year-old races later this year. The effort to ban raceday Lasix in 2-year-old races was announced last year by a number of influential tracks and racing organizations that eventually banded together in an organization calling itself the Thoroughbred Safety Coalition. Several racing commissions have approved regulations that codify the ban, which is intended to be expanded to all stakes races next year. The effort has faced pushback by some horsemen’s group, especially in Kentucky, where the Kentucky Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association sued to stop Churchill from writing the races. A judge threw the suit out, claiming that the Kentucky HBPA had not demonstrated legal standing in the case. Alan Foreman, the general counsel to the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, said that the MTHA board and the board of the state’s breeders’ association had both issued statements last year in support of the continued use of raceday Lasix. He said that horsemen would not comment on the letter sent by The Stronach Group until the commission makes a determination on the legality of the request. “The fundamental question is whether they have the authority to do this under current Maryland law,” Foreman said. Foreman said that if the commission determines that Laurel Park has the right to offer the races under the proposed condition, the MTHA board would meet to discuss the position of support that it released last year.