A review released July 31 by the office of New York State Gaming Commission equine medical director Dr. Scott Palmer examined 17 equine fatalities at Saratoga Race Course last summer and generated a series of recommendations.
Since last summer’s breakdowns, which the NYSGC said took place during unprecedented inclement weather at Saratoga, safer racing has ensued there and at other Thoroughbred racing venues operated by the New York Racing Association. Equine fatalities across the country have also dropped since the full implementation of Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority rules.
Some of the key NYSGC recommendations, which the regulator has posted online with its full review, include:
- Use of objective real-time measurements of the racing surfaces to monitor the variability of moisture content.
- Real-time testing of the composition of the racing surface to detect loss of fine materials.
- Installation of a synthetic racing surface at Saratoga, presumably to complement its turf and dirt courses, to provide a safe racing surface and maintain field size when races are moved off the grass.
- Require attending veterinarian exams before high-speed exercise and veterinarian’s list horses to be examined before workouts, whether currently on the list or in the past.
- Use of HISA data to generate an epidemiologic risk factor report that will quantify risk for individual horses—information that can be shared with trainers to obtain a current real-time risk assessment for their horses.
- Modify the HISA intra-articular injection reporting system and improve compliance for reporting medication to HISA.
- Create a requirement to report nonfatal musculoskeletal injuries to HISA and provide a convenient and reliable electronic system for the accurate reporting of nonfatal injuries.
- Modify the racing necropsy standard operating procedure for use in horses that perish in New York to consistently reflect the appropriate level of detail to determine the presence of pre-existing orthopedic conditions.
- Join with the ongoing study in progress in Kentucky and Virginia by placing sensors on all horses racing at NYRA racetracks to identify horses that are candidates for a lameness examination and routine or advanced imaging.
- Have New York racing stakeholders invest in a comprehensive equine safety program that includes the acquisition of advanced imaging equipment (positron emission tomography scanner and a standing computed tomography scanner) to be located at the Cornell Ruffian Equine Specialists adjacent to Belmont Park.
- Improve the NYRA ship-in protocol (a NYRA house rule) to require that no horse can attempt high-speed exercise over a NYRA racing or training surface prior to notification of the racing office of their intention to do so.
- Add procedures to allow notifications to prevent horses that are on the veterinarian’s list in other jurisdictions from training on a NYRA property prior to examination by a NYRA regulatory veterinarian.
The NYGSC report indicated that its recommendations are being developed or are to be considered.
“Dr. Scott Palmer’s analysis of the 2023 summer meet at Saratoga Race Course enhances our understanding of the myriad factors that contribute to equine injuries sustained during training or racing,” said Pat McKenna, vice president of communications for NYRA. “Continuously improving equine safety is an organizational imperative at NYRA that motivates all aspects of the operation and informs every decision around the evolving training and racing infrastructure at both Saratoga Race Course and Belmont Park. That’s why NYRA is embracing all-weather surfaces, biometric wearable technology, artificial intelligence and advanced equine imaging to further mitigate risk and ensure the safest possible environment for racing and training. NYRA thanks Dr. Palmer and the New York State Gaming Commission for investing the time and resources necessary to develop a comprehensive review of the 2023 summer meet.”
