‘Kind of like losing a part of your family’
Arizona racehorses are dying at a rate double the national average, but regulators and track operators aren’t sure why
Racehorses move with majestic grace, power and beauty.
One thousand pounds of muscle thundering down a track at 40 mph, eyes bulging, hearts pounding, dirt flying.
But, sometimes, a femur gives way with an audible snap. A jockey, in flashing colors, crashes to the ground. The animal follows, a tumble of legs, tail and torso.
Because anatomy does not allow a thoroughbred or a quarter horse to lie down for weeks of recovery, there is often no recourse: A veterinarian arrives within seconds, evaluates the suffering beast, then delivers a lethal injection. The corpse is winched into a van and hauled away.
At Arizona tracks last year, that scenario played out
at a record-setting pace, as 50 horses were put down during the 2017-18 season, mostly during races, according to a study issued by the state Department of Gaming.
That’s more than twice the number of “catastrophic injuries” experienced two years earlier, and double the national equine death rate at tracks.
The vast majority of Arizona’s horse fatalities occurred at Turf Paradise in Phoenix, the biggest and busiest parimutuel-wagering enterprise in the state. Officials there sought to pre-empt this report with a January media release announcing new safety measures to address an “uptick in track injuries.”
“What is so puzzling to Turf Paradise is why the rate spiked to double the industry standard,” the news release stated.
The Gaming Department’s study, “Fatality Breakthrough Project,” was obtained by The Arizona Republic via a public-records request.
It does not identify a primary cause for the death spree, and neither do horse racing insiders — jockeys, veterinarians, trainers and track operators — interviewed for this story. They offer multiple theories, but cannot fully explain the phenomenon.
Even as the study was underway, with new precautions being tested, the death rate continued to surge. Last year, nearly one animal was euthanized at Turf Paradise for every three days of racing.
Of the track’s 45 fatalities, 27 occurred during competition and 10 more during training runs — mostly suffering leg or fetlock (ankle) injuries. Eight horses died due to non-exercise issues such as pneumonia or colic.
The Jockey Club, a registry organization for thoroughbreds that also monitors fatal injuries at tracks nationwide, reports an average equine death rate of 1.61 per 1,000 race starts. In Arizona during fiscal 2018, the rate was 3.41.
Turf Paradise, at Bell Road and 19th Avenue, dominates Arizona’s parimutuel scene with 131 live racing days a year. By comparison, Rillito Racetrack in Tucson has 12 and Sonoita Horse Races in Santa Cruz County has two.
Turf Paradise General Manager Vince Francia stressed last month that safety is “our No. 1 priority.”
“When a horse does ‘break down,’ that is a heartbreak for all of us,” he added, using the industry term for an injury that causes a horse to pull up lame.
Francia said Turf Paradise has “one of the most aggressive safety protocols in the nation,” and suggested a mysterious combination of factors may be responsible for the spike in deaths.
“We haven’t figured it out,” Francia said, “but we’re committed to figuring it out.”
Two deaths in one day
On Jan. 8, 2017, two horses suffered catastrophic injuries while racing at Turf Paradise.
Video of the first race shows a quarter horse named With Love Too, under the whip early, crumpling in the final turn with jockey Enrique Garcia, who suffers bruised ribs.
Six races later, My dancing shadow breaks a foreleg in the middle of the pack and face-plunges to the earth. Jockey David Lopez somersaults over the top before getting clipped by a trailing horse.
Both injured animals were euthanized, and their demise punctuated an alarming trend previously reported only in an industry blog: Horse deaths in Arizona climbed 83 percent from the 201516 season, and were continuing to rise.
Turf Paradise began requiring fitness exams for animals that lost their previous race by more than 35 lengths. (The “easing” of a horse by a jockey may suggest injury.)
At the same time, a collaborative study was undertaken by the Gaming Department, Turf Paradise, the Arizona Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, veterinarians and Midwestern University College of Veterinary Medicine.
Investigators analyzed incidents bythe horses’ breed, gender and age, as well as the type of track (turf or dirt), time of race, distance covered and purse size.
While no particular culprit was identified, the study places suspicion on animals with recent medical issues; horses that were scratched or pulled up in a prior race; and those with long training gaps.
Some new precautions were enacted immediately. Beginning in 2018, up to 15 horses with high-risk factors were targeted for pre-race examinations daily. Forty-four were found unfit, and scratched.
Shock-wave therapy, which reduces inflammation but masks pain, was banned in the stable area. A safety committee began reviewing each fatality, with mandatory blood tests.
A spike in breakdowns during heavy rains suggested track conditions also play a role, so Turf Paradise closed on several storm days. A rule was adopted allowing representatives of jockeys, trainers and owners, or Turf Paradise, to halt races when they think conditions are “not right.”
Flat-track motorcycle racing, which was introduced at Turf Paradise during the off-season just before the fatality spike, has been discontinued.
Yet many steps were not taken, and the number of deaths continued to swell.
Recommendations not enacted
The state’s fatality study contains a dozen recommended actions for equine safety.
Initial findings were presented to Arizona Racing Commission members in late 2017. A full report went to them in September 2018.
To date, those who set policy for Turf Paradise and other tracks have not voted to enact any of the recommendations. The Gaming Department, which produced the study and regulates parimutuel wagering through its Division of Racing, has not imposed new rules.
In an email responding to questions about oversight, Gaming Department spokeswoman Caroline Oppleman said her agency has “sought and received voluntarily cooperation from industry stakeholders who share our concern.”
The fatality review only began two years ago, so data is still being gathered and analyzed, Oppleman said.
The department “is committed to working with the racing community and industry stakeholders to address these multifaceted equine safety issues, and continuing to enhance data collection to inform sound recommendations and countermeasures going forward.” Among the recommendations:
❚ The Racing Division should employ a new veterinarian for pre-race examinations of all horses, and hire a new safety steward. No vet or safety steward has been hired. Oppleman said recommendations came after the agency’s 2019 budget was completed.
❚ Outside experts should evaluate and improve track conditions. No independent evaluation has been done, according to the track supervisor at Turf Paradise.
❚ Horse trainers and assistants should undergo equine safety education to maintain their licenses. No regulation has been adopted. The Racing Division is considering informal safety sessions.
❚ Arizona tracks should participate in a database maintained by the Jockey Club for analysis of equine injuries. Turf Paradise now provides data for that research project.
❚ Turf Paradise should schedule a break in its racing season, which is one of the nation’s longest, to give horses a recovery period. Track operators, trainers and owners say such a move would financially hurt a struggling industry.
On Jan. 10, Racing Commissioner Rory Goree prevented a vote for renewal of Turf Paradise’s operational license by stomping out of a meeting after voicing disgust over safety and oversight.
“If we’re not, as a collective group, giving a s--t about security,” Goree asked, “how are we giving a s--t about racing? … We have people’s lives — and horses’ lives — at risk.”
‘Suffering and dying for a sport’
Horse-racing enterprises and enthusiasts are perpetually striving to fend off critics around the globe.
One website, Horse Racing Fact Sheet, blasts a message that thoroughbreds in America “are the victims of a multi-billion dollar industry that is rife with drug abuse, injuries, and death.”
Another, Horseracing Wrongs, contains a nationwide list of dead animals along with gruesome descriptions.
Patrick Battuello, who operates that site, said he doesn’t believe data from the Jockey Club or parimutuel operators, and estimates 2,000 animals die in races or training runs each year.
There is no official tally of racehorse deaths nationwide.
Battuello, who lives in New York, said his goal is to get racing banned. Each time a track experiences a fatality surge, he added, safety committees are formed, experts try to identify the cause, and nothing really changes.
“Horses are suffering and dying for a sport — or whatever you want to call it — that people don’t care about,” he said. “It’s a gambling business. Always has been, always will be.”
‘Multiplicity of factors’
Turf Paradise, in operation for 63 years, claims an estimated $91 million impact on Arizona’s economy, and attracts about 200,000 spectators and bettors annually.
The new data on horse deaths comes as co-owner Jerry Simms is pushing for casino-style gaming at about 50 offtrack betting parlors controlled by his enterprise statewide.
Francia, the Turf Paradise general manager, said track owners are doing all they can to reverse a fatality trend that appears to be caused by a “multiplicity of factors.”
Francia gave a Republic reporter a tour of safety features, pointing to an equine swimming pool — one of just four at the nation’s 82 horse tracks — as an investment in the health and wellness of the animals that are the industry’s lifeblood.
Turf Paradise overhauls the track with fresh soil at the start of each season. New harrows were purchased to soften the running surface, which is renovated weekly.
Everyone in the racing business loves horses, Francia added, and each death is devastating.
‘Like losing a part of your family’
Kevin Eikleberry, a leading trainer, and others attributed the fatality rate to inferior horses. Because Turf Paradise revenues are relatively low, he said, purses are too small to attract top-flight animals.
That risk is compounded, Eikleberry said, because owners sometimes run their horses 20 or more times a year just to survive financially, creating a greater chance of breakdowns.
Eikleberry said he’s very protective of his animals — losing just one horse in 40 years of racing — but he sympathizes with owners and trainers. “It’s tough,” he noted. “Kind of like losing a part of your family.”
Scott Stevens, a top jockey, agreed that Arizona gets “some of the lowerend claiming horses,” which may account for deaths.
At age 59, with four decades of racing, Stevens said he’s broken every bone in his body. He described horses and jockeys as athletes, and compared racing to other sports where injuries are a part of competing.
“It’s no different than when we watch a football game: Somebody takes a bad step and breaks a leg,” he said.
Stevens recalled a race aboard Arizona Irish at Turf Paradise several years ago. The horse was in first place, just 100 yards from the finish, when a bone snapped inexplicably.
“I was extremely close to that horse. I’ve never let myself get that attached again,” Stevens said. “… This isn’t like a meat locker where they just run horses and abuse the hell out of ‘em.”
Verlin D. Jones, a Turf Paradise veterinarian, said he believes horse fatalities have climbed at every track in the U.S., and economics are partly to blame.
With the recession of 2008, Jones said, purses dropped and a lot of bigmoney investors left racing. So the number of horses dwindled, and quality dropped.
At the same time, Jones said, the industry banned use of steroidal medications that reduce an animal’s pain. While intentions may have been good, he said, that led to more animals running with pain, altering their gait, and breaking down as a result.
Jones said pre-race examinations help, but are not infallible. “So many horses, I may not like how they look, yet they end up winning the race.”
On Dec. 12, a horse named Unusual Champ broke down at the halfway mark and didn’t finish. Necropsy results showed a lung hemorrhage.
So far this season, according to Gaming Department records, there have been 22 catastrophic injuries — on pace for another record year.
“We’re still having issues with it,” said Francia.
“When a horse does ‘break down,’ that is a heartbreak for all of us.” Vince Francia Turf Paradise general manager