Pharmacy Admits Incorrect Mixing of Meds in Polo Deaths

((HT: Miami Herald-DiPaolo/Musgrave))

The head of a Tallahassee-based pharmacy admitted Thursday that it incorrectly mixed a medication that was given to 21 horses that mysteriously collapsed and died before a polo match over the weekend.

Jennifer Beckett, chief operations officer for Franck's Pharmacy, said an internal investigation revealed the strength of an ingredient in the medication was flawed. In a written statement, she did not name the medication or the ingredient involved.

''We will cooperate fully with the authorities as they continue their investigations,'' she wrote. ``Because of the ongoing investigations, we cannot discuss further details about this matter at this time.''

The news came as the politically-connected Venezuelan multimillionaire who owns the 21 horses indicated he suspects his team's own veterinarian may have played a role in the deaths of some of the polo ponies, according to a letter from a Philadelphia lawyer.

In a letter to polo team veterinarian Dr. James Belden, an attorney representing an insurance company says its investigation revealed that Biodyl was administered to 12 ponies prior to their deaths before a match at the International Polo Club Palm Beach on Sunday. Attorney William Gericke wrote that Belden ordered the compound from Franck's Pharmacy in Tallahassee.

''Since you ordered the Biodyl from Franck's Pharmacy that was administered to the horses, I believe there may be a possibility that my client may look to you as a party who has some responsibility for the loss,'' Gericke wrote.

Biodyl, a vitamin supplement that is banned in the United States, emerged as a possible culprit in the deaths when Lechuza Caracas' ((team HQ pictured, thanks WPLG-TV)) team captain told a Venezuelan newspaper it was administered to the horses.

Belden, who was not immediately available for comment, has said he is one of the team's vets and worked under Argentine team veterinarian Felix Crespo. Crespo is not named in the letter.

State labs, which conducted inconclusive necropsies of the 21 horses, said they are still awaiting results of toxicology tests to determine what caused the deaths. Sarah Carey, a spokeswoman for the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine, said she expects results ``very soon.''

Gericke represents an insurance company for Quorum Management, one of several companies owned by Victor Vargas, an oil magnate turned banker who owns two mansions in Palm Beach. The company owns 12 of the horses that died, Gericke said.

In the letter, he asks Belden, who is a team vet for Vargas's Lechuza Caracas polo team, to ``preserve any and all quantities [of Biodyl] so we may have it tested.''

A spokeswoman for the pharmacy wasn't immediately available for comment.

Mark Fagan, a spokesman for the Florida Department of Agriculture, which is investigating the deaths, said he was unaware of any investigation by an insurance agency.

Determining whether Biodyl played a role in the horses' deaths is complicated because many of the ingredients in it are also found in legal compounds, he said.

Vanessa Medina, with our friends at WSVN-TV, is in Wellington, Florida with details

Answers And Allegations In Polo Deaths

((HT: Miami Herald/Palm Beach Post/Andrew Abramson))

The Florida Department of Agriculture confirmed today that the horses suffered from hemorrhaging of the lungs.

''The thing that is consistent with all the horses is hemorrhaging and pulmonary edema,'' said Mark Fagan, spokesman for the agricultural department. ``That's consistent through all the necropsies so far, and we certainly expect that with the remaining few necropsies.''

Fagan said that an official cause of death wouldn't be released until the toxicology reports are completed -- those results aren't expected until the end of the week, at the earliest.

Fagan said that investigators are following a report in the La Nacion newspaper of Buenos Aires where a captain of the Lechuza Caracas polo team said the horses were injected with a vitamin supplement called Biodyl that is not approved for use in the United States, Fagan said.

''I will tell you certainly screening for Biodyl will be done, and we're trying to get some answers about Biodyl,'' Fagan said.

The Florida Animal Diagnostic Lab in Kissimmee is testing samples of the bedding, hay, feed and water collected from Wellington.

Fagan said that any medications or supplements that the horses received would show up in the toxicology report.

Pulmonary edema is fluid accumulation in the lungs that causes respiratory failure. It can be caused when the heart is unable to remove fluids from the lungs.

As for the criminal investigation, Fagan said he's unaware of any search warrant being issued at the polo grounds.

Richard Jordan was in Wellington for the results of the necropsies...

Horse Deaths Tied To Mystery Toxin

((HT: Miami Herald/Beasley, Vasquez, Gunson))

The horrific public deaths of 21 horses before a polo match likely were caused by a toxin that could have been in tainted food, vitamins or supplements, a veterinarian who treated one of the horses said Monday.

''Something that was given to these horses caused this toxic reaction,'' Dr. Scott Swerdlin, who treated one of the sick horses at Palm Beach Equine Clinic near the Wellington polo grounds, told reporters.

Another veterinarian at the scene said something triggered heart failure among the horses.
''Well clearly, it's an intoxication, clearly there's some sort of a poison,'' Dr. James Belden told NBC's Today show.

Authorities have opened an investigation into the deaths but said there is no evidence of intentional criminal wrongdoing. The Palm Beach Sheriff's Office and the Office of Agricultural Law Enforcement are working together to determine what killed the competitive equines at the International Polo Club Palm Beach.

Much of that inquiry will depend on the results of the necropsies, which are being overseen by The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

The mass examinations, conducted at both an animal diagnostic clinic in Kissimmee and the University of Florida's College of Veterinary Medicine, could take weeks.

''It's probably going to be an accident, but we need to wait and see what the results say,'' said PBSO Capt. Gregory Richter. ``We don't think it's intentional, but it might be negligence.''

Speculation over the horses' deaths has been widespread among veterinarians since the horses fell ill and died in front of thousands of horrified spectators at the U.S. Open Polo Championship. The horses never made it to the playing field, but instead collapsed in a staging area visible to the crowd.

The animals were part of the Venezuelan-owned team Lechuza Caracas ((stable pictured, thanks Scott Fisher/Sun-Sentinel)) and were all from South America.

Monday, Lechuza Caracas withdrew from the U.S. Open, considered the ''Super Bowl of polo,'' according to Tim O'Connor, spokesman for the International Polo Club.

The gates to Lechuza Caracas' Wellington horse ranch were locked Monday afternoon. Dozens of flowers were placed in front of the property, forming a makeshift memorial for the fallen equines.

''Deaths are very uncommon. Something of this magnitude has never happened, from what I've heard, in the history of polo,'' said John Wash, the International Polo Club's president of club operations. ``It was a horrific scene and it will be embedded in my mind forever.''

Wash told reporters Monday that doctors had ruled out any sort of airborne infection. ''This was an isolated incident involving that one team,'' Wash said.

''This was devastating,'' he said. ``It was heartbreaking to see that many horses get sick all at once.''

Veterinarians already at the event quickly tried treating the horses, inserting intravenous lines and trying to cool them down with fans and water. Observers hung blue tarps to shield some of the horses from the crowd's view.

The team is owned by Venezuelan businessman Victor Vargas, but most of the horses and players are from Argentina, Swerdlin said. The team travels most of the year.

Lechuza Caracas has participated in the U.S. Open since 1999, reaching the finals six years ago, according to the North American Polo League's website. Swerdlin said the team has up to 60 horses. All of those who fell sick have died, he added.

Rene Marsh leads the coverage from WSVN-TV Night Team...