Additional steps taken to ensure safe racing at Spa
A total of 17 fatal breakdowns in 2017 a concern for all
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. » Additional measures to ensure the health and safety of horses will be implemented for the remainder of the 2017 Saratoga Race Course meeting according to a release sent by NYRA, the New York State Gaming Commission and New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association Monday.
There have been 17 fatal breakdowns on the Saratoga grounds this summer as of Monday morning — eight in training, eight racing and one because of a fatal illness. That is the most in a single year since the Gaming Commission began its Equine Breakdown, Death, Injury and Incident Datatbase in 2009. There are more than 2,600 horses on the Saratoga grounds this summer including horses involved in racing and non-racing functions, like those who carry outriders.
“Our goal is to reduce the number of racehorse deaths and injuries to zero, and we have taken many productive steps toward reaching that goal over the past four years,” said New York State Equine Medical Director Scott E. Palmer in the statement. “However, our work is never done and there will always be challenges that
require reexamination and recalibration to effectively protect horses and their riders.”
The statement outlined three actions. First, an additional veterinarian on hand for early morning training. Second, regulatory veterinarians will use reports provided by The Jockey Club’s In-Compass Solutions software to examine horses considered to be at an increased risk of injury.
The reports include horses stabled at Belmont Park and Saratoga.
“Equine safety has been and will always be a top priority for The Jockey Club and we are pleased that the New York Gaming Commission and the New York Racing Association are using our Equine Injury Database and our In-Compass racing office software,” said James L. Gagliano, president and chief operating officer of The Jockey Club.
The third is continuing education for current trainers, something New York already requires trainers to do as a requirement for their license.
The next continuing education session is scheduled for Tuesday at Saratoga Race Course. At the session, Palmer and two members of Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine will cover findings of the state’s Post-Mortem Examination Program, risk and protective factors and how to assess bone fracture risk. The presentation will be recorded an released to the public according to the statement.
All measures listed were in addition to those already in place and will be put into practice at all NYRA tracks and Finger Lakes Race Track.
“Where safety is concerned, we need to examine every possibility, including a mandate to open all racing surfaces earlier than we have in the past before the start of the race meet,” said Rick Violette Jr., a trainer and president of the NYTHA.
“We are all for insisting that everyone involved in New York racing, from the trainers and the owners to the attending and regulatory veterinarians to racetrack management to the state regulators, be held to the highest standards. We all have to do our jobs to the best of our abilities. The litany of programs and initiatives and safety measures are only impressive when they work.”
One of Violette’s horses named Howard Beach broke down training at Saratoga on July 29. The 2-year-old New York-bred colt unseated his exercise rider Rodney Paine, ran loose and suffered a fracture to his right front leg and had to be euthanized. Paine was not injured.
Racing fatalities at New York tracks have been lower than the national average for the past four years according to Jockey Club numbers. In 2016, 1.14 horses broke down per 1,000 starters on NYRA tracks compared to a national average of 1.54.
NYRA is also continuing to monitor the Saratoga turf and dirt surfaces. However, a look at the breakdowns do not reveal a clear pattern as to one surface being more dangerous than another. All surfaces were tested before the meet and are also tested daily before racing begins.