HISA recommends additional safety measures following Churchill Downs announcement
Horse racing will not be suspended at Churchill Downs, but the track has announced several new “safety initiatives” in the wake of the recent spate of horse fatalities. At least 12 horses have died since the Spring Games season began at the historic Louisville Racecourse. This prompted calls for a change to the racecourse, leading to an emergency summit at the Department of Horseracing Fairness and Safety. HISA has been assessing the situation since Tuesday. On Thursday, the racecourse announced it would: Limit each horse to four starts during the eight-week rolling period Establish disqualification criteria for poor performance. Horses that are behind by 12 lengths or more in five consecutive runs will be disqualified from running at Churchill Downs until they receive approval to return from the Equine Medical Director. Suspend track-based incentives such as trainer running bonuses and wallet payment allocations to individual horses. Race finishers to the bottom. Wallet payouts are limited to the top 5. They are effective immediately. On Thursday night, races are held leading up to Twilight Thursday. The race will start at 5pm. HISA then made additional recommendations starting Saturday. HISA’s Director of Horse Safety and Welfare will conduct additional post-entry inspections. HISA Rule 2142 (Evaluation of Horse Racing Health) requires post-entry screening of previous pre-race examination findings of runners to identify horses that may be at higher risk of injury. The review included past performance, layup (≥60 days without timed training or racing), medical history in the past 30 days, previous injury or lameness diagnosis, intra-articular corticosteroid injections, previous Includes surgery and other individual horse risk factors. HISA has directed the Horse Racing Equity and Welfare Unit (HIWU) to collect blood and hair samples for all fatalities involving affected horses. The results of such collections are used to facilitate investigations into the causes of such fatalities. Data collected by his HIWU in relation to subject horse deaths are also used to track relevant statistics and trends related to deaths. HISA appointed Dr Alina Vale, an equine forensics expert, to conduct an additional thorough investigation of all autopsies performed on the subject horse. covered horse. As the official veterinarian for the California Racing Commission, Dr. Vale has conducted several post-reviews, including participating in the 2019 review following a spate of horse fatalities at Santa Anita Racecourse. PETA is urging HISA and Baba to stop the race. An investigation into the fatality continues, and on Thursday he was seen driving a truck while playing a video of the injury to one of the horses that led to the death. The state of Lost in Limbo injured before euthanasia is drawn. Track officials also said they brought in experts to inspect the tracks and found nothing out of the ordinary. However, the investigation is ongoing and the conclusions will be made public once completed. “HISA continues to urgently seek further responses to more clearly identify the causes of these recent fatalities and concrete interventions to prevent future fatalities,” HISA said in a news release. He said: “All options are under consideration and HISA will continue to closely monitor events at Churchill Downs.”
Horse racing will not be suspended at Churchill Downs, but the track has announced several new “safety initiatives” in the wake of the recent spate of horse fatalities.
At least 12 horses have died since the Springmeat season began at the historic Louisville Racecourse.
This prompted calls for changes at the racetracks, leading to an emergency summit at the Department of Horseracing Fairness and Safety.
HISA has been assessing the situation since Tuesday. On Thursday, the track announced that it will:
- Limit each horse to 4 starts during the 8-week rolling period
- Establishment of disqualification criteria for poor grades. A horse that loses by more than 12 lengths in five consecutive runs is ineligible to run at Churchill Downs until the Director of Equine Medicine approves its return.
- Suspend track-based incentives, such as running bonuses for trainers and allocating purse payments to the bottom finishers. Wallet payouts are limited to the top 5.
They take effect immediately.
Races are held on Thursday night heading into Twilight Thursday.Race starts at 5pm
HISA then made additional recommendations starting Saturday.
- The HISA Director of Equine Safety and Welfare will conduct additional post-entry inspections. HISA Rule 2142 (Evaluation of Horse Racing Health) requires post-entry screening of previous pre-race examination findings of runners to identify horses that may be at higher risk of injury. The review included past performance, layup (≥60 days without timed training or racing), medical history in the past 30 days, previous injury or lameness diagnosis, intra-articular corticosteroid injections, previous Includes surgery and other individual horse risk factors.
- HISA has directed the Horse Racing Equity and Welfare Unit (HIWU) to collect blood and hair samples for all fatalities involving affected horses. The results of such collections are used to facilitate investigations into the causes of such fatalities. Data collected by his HIWU regarding subject horse fatalities is also used to track relevant statistics and trends related to fatalities.
- HISA has appointed Equine Forensic Expert Dr Alina Vale to conduct an additional thorough review of all autopsies performed on covered horses. As an official veterinarian for the California Racing Commission, Dr. Vale has conducted several follow-up reviews, including participating in the review after a series of horse fatalities at Santa Anita in 2019.
PETA has asked HISA and the racetrack to stop the race while the investigation into the fatality continues, and on Thursday showed a video of the injury to one of the horses that led to the death while driving a truck inside the track. was seen where he was.
The state of Lost in Limbo injured before euthanasia is drawn.
Track officials also said they brought in experts to inspect the tracks and found nothing out of the ordinary. However, this study is ongoing and, once completed, the conclusions will be made public.
“HISA continues to urgently seek further responses to more clearly identify the causes of recent fatalities and concrete interventions to prevent future fatalities,” HISA said in a news release. . “All options are under consideration and HISA will continue to closely monitor events at Churchill Downs.”
