As the sporting world turns its attention to the Kentucky Derby (G1), a focus that will include questions about racing's safety record, industry efforts to ensure the well-being of competitors and the integrity of racing started months ago.
In an April 23 conference call, representatives of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority noted that some 150 out-of-competition tests have been conducted on this year's Derby runners and potential Derby runners. And, information from those tests is just the tip of the iceberg for a sport that sees the potential of data to provide a path forward in improving equine safety.
As the sport looks to bounce back from a problematic 2023 Churchill Downs spring meet in which a dozen horses died while racing, training, or preparing to race before the meet was moved to Ellis Park, officials from HISA and its enforcement arm, the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit, on Tuesday outlined advancements in place to protect horses during Derby week and beyond.
This will be the first Derby week that HISA has had oversight of anti-doping efforts and controlled medication regulation, as it launched its ADMC May 22, 2023. It will be the second year it's had Derby week oversight of the sport's equine and rider safety.
HISA director of equine safety and welfare Jennifer Durenberger said HISA collects 4,700 treatment reports a day and has more than 2 million on file. Artificial intelligence is being used to examine this compiled data in an effort to identify horses at risk for injury, including for competitors in this year's Kentucky Derby (G1) and throughout Derby week at Churchill.
HISA said a significant amount of information about every horse that will compete during Derby week will be available. That information, collected through the HISA portal, can be used to identify horses in at-risk categories, which can help on-site veterinarians focus their efforts. Not only is the information available to vets, but because HISA has a virtually national reach, it's being collected in the same manner throughout the country. That ensures consistency from the collection point forward.
"For the first time HISA brings to the industry a centralized online database of horses and the people involved in the sport," Durenberger said. "Our portal enables regulatory veterinarians in any jurisdiction to access equine medical records and other information that's important for them to review the horses' health histories."
Officials noted that while there is increased interest from average sports fans in racing this time of year, it's important to note that on an everyday basis horses are benefiting from HISA and industry efforts. For instance, veterinary records on horses that are claimed travel with that horse to the new connections to help ensure continuity of care.
Durenberger noted that because some safety strides had already been made in these areas at larger tracks in recent years, the smaller tracks that had lagged in these efforts—sometimes underfunded—are benefiting the most.
"We believe that the interventions made under HISA's racetrack safety program already are having a positive impact," Durenberger said.
Those strides have shown up in year-end numbers. Despite the problems at Churchill last spring, the rate of equine fatalities in 2023 declined at HISA tracks to 1.23 per 1,000 starts—improving on what had been a record year for the industry in 2022 at 1.25. Last year was the sport's first full year under HISA and 2022 was the first partial year under HISA.
"We've been able to identify 44 potential risk factors and created a model that essentially looks at every race card in the U.S. under HISA jurisdiction every day," HISA CEO Lisa Lazarus said. "It attributes each horse a numerical risk factor. We're currently beta testing it with a group of veterinarians that are engaging with us and giving us feedback that is being provided to Churchill Downs to have as one of the tools that they are able to use with their sophisticated veterinary team and practices to help determine whether there are any horses on Derby Day that are at risk of being injured."
Also of note:
- Lazarus said early numbers are pointing to improved safety through the first quarter of 2024.
"I can't give you specific numbers right now, because we're still going through quality control on our data as we close up the quarter, but we definitely are looking better than last year, I'm quite confident of that," Lazarus said.
- Lazarus also noted progress with wearable technology supplying detailed information.
"This is just the beginning," Lazarus said. "There's so much more that we can and will do as an industry as we collect more and more data."
- HISA director of racetrack safety Ann McGovern noted that Churchill has added material to its dirt surface ahead of this meet and has invested in new equipment that is paying dividends.
"Based on our pre-racing evaluation that HISA does on every racetrack prior to the beginning of its season, the metrics are much improved over last year. When I say 'much improved,' Churchill's surface was in very good shape last year but it's improved even more with the added material and additional equipment."
(In the days ahead, BloodHorse plans a full story on these track changes and others at Churchill aimed at improving safety.)
