Safety remains a concern
Death of horses during Derby week continues to cast large shadow over the horse racing world
By Childs Walker
To a person, they cross their fingers or say a small prayer every time a major race draws near: Please, please do not let a horse break down.
Those who love thoroughbred racing agree that among all the difficulties facing their sport, none is more existentially threatening than public dismay over the deaths of racehorses.
This disquiet peaked again last week after seven horses died or suffered fatal injuries in the run-up to the Kentucky Derby, the most-watched event on the American racing calendar. Questions of racetrack safety will remain on the front burner as those scrutinizing the sport turn their gaze to Baltimore and
Saturday’s Preakness Stakes.
As the gloomy headlines emerged one after another from Kentucky, it hardly mattered that the rate of racing-related deaths dropped 37.5% from 2009 to 2022, or that state racing officials took swift action to suspend the trainer, Saffie Joseph Jr., who had two horses die suddenly and inexplicably. They also scratched would-be Derby favorite Forte over the objections of his co-owner because a veterinarian was concerned about a bruise on the colt’s foot.
These might be signs of progress for those who know the sport intimately, but many casual fans saw only the death toll, which for them overshadowed Mage’s victory in the first jewel of the
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Triple Crown.
Perhaps they thought back to the 2019 crisis at Santa Anita Park, where 30 horses died in one season, threatening the future of California racing.
Maryland last month faced its own crisis when five horses suffered fatal accidents in racing or training at Laurel Park, forcing a temporary shutdown as track operators and horsemen disagreed sharply about safety conditions before ultimately agreeing to act on an outside consultant’s maintenance recommendations.
“You look at [the deaths] in the context of number of races and starts, and it’s the smallest it’s been in decades because our protocols are better,” said Alan Foreman, general counsel for the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association and a key voice in the Mid-Atlantic industry’s efforts to reduce fatalities.
“But then you have a cluster like we had with the entire world looking at Churchill Downs, and it’s hard to explain. It’s hard to justify.”
Trainers are more hardened to the risks of the sport than casual fans but