An investigation by the authority overseeing horse racing security couldn’t pinpoint why a dozen horses died at Churchill Downs within the days surrounding the Kentucky Derby, however a report referred to as for racetracks to be extra diligent about floor administration, urged veterinarians and regulators to maintain higher medical information and cautioned trainers to not push their horses too laborious.
The suggestions by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority had been made in a report launched Tuesday that examined the deaths of 12 horses — two on Kentucky Derby Day. In June, Churchill Downs suspended its spring meet to make means for the authority to research the deaths.
The report comes after the lately concluded Saratoga summer time meet, at which there have been 12 horse fatalities — eight whereas racing — and once more left the game struggling to reassure the general public that racing is secure for its human and equine athletes.
“Nobody entity or subject can by itself assure a significant discount in equine accidents,” the authority’s report mentioned. The authority, overseen by the Federal Commerce Fee, was created by Congress to make sure equity and security within the sport. “Horse racing has reached an ‘all hands-on deck’ second requiring greater than ever a very unified effort for the horses.”
Dennis Moore, a longtime California monitor superintendent and racetrack floor knowledgeable, mentioned there was no information that instructed the grime or turf tracks at Churchill Downs had been answerable for the accidents. The report acknowledges that some trainers complained of rocks on the racetrack. Moore beneficial that new tractors and harrows with higher screening tools be employed. That tools is in place for Churchill’s fall assembly, which opens Thursday.
Necropsies and toxicology screens didn’t discover any banned substances or the misuse or overuse of authorized medicines within the 12 horses. The coach Saffie Joseph Jr. was suspended by Churchill Downs within the days earlier than the Derby after two of his horses collapsed after racing. The racetrack subsequently rescinded the suspension.
The report clears Joseph and mentioned the coach supplied complete medical information.
The report mentioned Kentucky regulators, in addition to the business at massive, must replace their insurance policies, gather extra information and report it in a timelier method to “totally harness its predictive worth for mitigating harm dangers and informing rulemaking.” In Kentucky, for instance, necropsies are carried out solely on horses which are fatally injured in races. Horses that die throughout coaching aren’t examined. The report requires necropsies in all deaths.
And California’s Veterinary Medical Board lately positioned a veterinarian on probation for 4 years for prescribing medicine with out performing exams and creating incomplete information. The veterinarian, Dr. Vincent Baker, has handled horses educated by Bob Baffert, together with Medina Spirit, the horse that received the 2021 Kentucky Derby however was disqualified after testing optimistic for a prohibited substance.
Dr. Susan Stover, who heads the authority’s security committee, studied the coaching routine of the horses that died and in contrast them to a management group of comparable ages. She discovered that they’d extra races per yr of their careers than the management group and endured extra high-speed work. Each components result in “repetitive, overuse (fatigue) accidents in racehorses.”
Stover wrote that frequent laborious train with out time for restoration contributes to emphasize fractures that “predispose horses to catastrophic accidents.”
