A panel of veterinarians serving in equine medical leadership roles discussed Kentucky's equine safety protocols and advances in technology during a closing-day, May 9 panel of the Association of Racing Commissioners International Annual Conference at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky.
The panel discussion, titled New Development in Equine Care and Safety and moderated by regulatory veterinarian Dr. Michael Hardy, emphasized the collaborative effort between the state regulator and equine safety leadership employed by Churchill Downs Inc. and Keeneland. Kentucky, like much of the country, has advanced equine welfare under increased state and Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority regulation, and with proactive steps taken by horsemen and racetracks.
Dr. George Mundy, Keeneland equine safety officer and interim equine medical director for the Kentucky Horse Racing and Gaming Corporation, said the industry "has evolved" since a rash of equine fatalities in 2019 at Santa Anita Park spurred safety changes. Following California's initial push, which involved increased state and track rules, the major Kentucky tracks added equine safety leadership positions.
With seven full-time veterinarians and part-time staff working for the KHRGC, Mundy said state veterinarians are busy overseeing what he said were 5,500 Thoroughbreds that are usually in training in the state, not to mention other racing breeds such as Standardbreds and Quarter Horses.
"We are slammed taking care of race-day responsibilities and also to service those 5,500 horses that are in different locations, actively training," Mundy said.
One Kentucky trainer expressed frustration to BloodHorse last week over what he said are delays in having a state veterinarian observe a horse for possible removal from a veterinarian's list, a listing of horses ineligible to start. Horses are placed on the veterinarian's list for a variety of reasons, which include unsoundness or designated types of treatment.
As of 2:30 p.m. on Friday, the most current veterinarian's list on the KHRGC website was dated April 28.
Though the state veterinarians under the KHRGC are responsible for race-day examinations, Farmer's staff will begin screening horses at the time of entry before the racing office formally closes entries and post positions are drawn. Entries can be denied for those determined to be potentially at risk, and others can be flagged for follow-up.
Churchill Downs equine medical director Dr. Will Farmer pointed to the work of private attending veterinarians as having advanced horse safety. He mentioned the success of a rule, which he said was utilized initially in Kentucky by CDI as a track operator and is now part of KHRGC regulations, that requires an attending veterinarian to have examined a horse within three days of a race or five days of a high-speed workout.
"We had great push back. Everybody pushed back," Farmer said. "And I will tell you now, wholeheartedly; I have no problem telling anybody to go to the backside and ask our veterinarians—they will say the single-most change that we have done in the last 10 years was requiring that exam."
He said it drove engagement between private veterinarians and trainers, and had a "ripple effect" on equine safety.
Since that time, Churchill Downs and other tracks in the state have also supported wearable technology, specifically StrideSAFE, and data collected since 2023 from more than 40,000 starts has allowed trainers to learn more about deviations and warning signs in the gait of their horses, Farmer said. He noted that necropsies and studies in the sport have shown that "upwards of 90% of horses have some type of pre-existing injury or lesion at the time of a catastrophic injury."
Advances in technology have also allowed for real-time database updates from state regulatory veterinarians when they evaluate horses and place data from those inspections into computer pads.
Dr. Stuart Brown, vice president of equine safety at Keeneland, noted developments from InCompass in prerace assessment reports and Keeneland's use of its VetCam surveillance system as further technological aids. Comprised of high-definition cameras strategically positioned across the Keeneland track, VetCam can provide real-time monitoring of track conditions and the precise movements of horses during training and racing.
"It puts us in a position to really make a lot of great observation, of course, loaded with weight in exercise, and then to potentially take these kinds of endpoints and then go back and look at them," Brown said.
