Thoroughbred Safety Committee: The Jockey Club--Dedicated to the Improvement of Thoroughbred Breeding and Racing Since 1894

Thoroughbred Safety Committee

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Thoroughbredtimes.com, May 8, 2008

Jockey Club Forms Thoroughbred Safety Committee

The officers of The Jockey Club have commissioned a seven-member Thoroughbred Safety Committee. The group will hold its first meeting on May 14 in Lexington.

Ogden Mills Phipps, chairman of The Jockey Club, said the committee would be asked to review every facet of equine health, including breeding practices, medication, the rules of racing and track surfaces, and to recommend actions to be taken by the industry to improve the health and safety of Thoroughbreds.

Recommendations from the two Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summits will serve as starting points for the committee, which includes Stuart Janney III (chairman), John Barr, Jimmy Bell, Larry Bramlage, D.V.M., Donald Dizney, Dell Hancock, and Hiram Polk Jr., M.D. Each is a member of The Jockey Club.

“All seven of these individuals have dedicated a major part of their lives to Thoroughbred breeding and racing and have shown a consistent and unwavering concern for the welfare of Thoroughbreds,” Phipps said. “We will reach out to involve others in the industry and we will do everything in our power to encourage changes that will benefit the breed in any way. We will do this in a timely manner.”
Alex Waldrop, president and chief executive officer of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, gave the committee the NTRA's support on Thursday morning.
"The Thoroughbred Safety Committee is a major step that will provide the examination of the horse welfare and safety issues so badly needed in the wake of recent catastrophic injuries," Waldrop said. "The NTRA supports the committee’s work and plans to work closely with it to build support for the committee’s recommendations with the many constituencies we represent. At the same time, we will redouble our efforts to promote Thoroughbred racing to core and target fans as the safe, responsible sport that it is. Now more than ever, no practice, policy or tradition is more important than those that best protect and promote the health of the Thoroughbred athlete."

Barr is a semi-retired real estate developer in Orange County, California, who races his horses under the Oakcrest Stable banner. He serves on the board of directors and is past president of the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association and also serves on the board of directors of the Oak Tree Racing Association.

Bell, the president of Darley USA in Lexington, serves on the boards of Keeneland Association, the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association and Thoroughbred Charities of America. He also is vice president of the Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders and a member of the Sales Integrity Task Force.

Bramlage is a partner in Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington and past president of the American Association of Equine Practitioners. He serves on the board of directors of Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation. In 1994, Bramlage was awarded The Jockey Club Medal for his dedication and contributions to Thoroughbred racing.

Dizney owns Double Diamond Farm in Ocala. He is past president of the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders and Owners Association and a member of the board of directors of Breeders’ Cup Ltd. Dizney founded Orlando-based United Medical Corporation in 1974 and serves as its chairman and chief executive officer.

Hancock is co-owner of Claiborne Farm in Paris, Kentucky, and chairman of the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation. She also serves on the American Graded Stakes Committee. She has also been actively involved with the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association, Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, and the Kentucky Horse Park.

Janney is chairman of Bessemer Trust Co. and of Bessemer Securities Corp. A longtime owner-breeder, Janney serves as chairman of the board of Blood-Horse Publications and sits on the boards of several other industry organizations, including the New York Racing Association, Keeneland Association and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, where he also served as chairman.

Polk is a prominent professor of surgery at the University of Louisville School of Medicine, as well as the emeritus editor in chief of The American Journal of Surgery. A Thoroughbred owner and breeder, Polk served on the steering committee for the second Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit, held in March 2008, and also serves on the board of the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation.

Louisville Courier-Journal, May 9, 2008

Horse Safety Board Created
Jockey Club responds to Eight Belles outcry

By Gregory A. Hall
Responding to the breakdown of the filly Eight Belles after Saturday's Kentucky Derby, the Jockey Club -- the official registrar of thoroughbred pedigrees in North America -- announced a committee to recommend industry changes to improve equine health.

The announcement from Jockey Club Chairman Ogden Mills Phipps said the seven-member Thoroughbred Safety Committee will review all facets of equine health, including breeding practices, medication, racing rules and track surfaces.

Those topics are under public and industry scrutiny after the Derby's second-place finisher, Eight Belles, was euthanized on the track after breaking both front legs a quarter-mile after the finish.

"There are going to be some things that are going to be little bits of progress that can be made relatively easy and (painlessly), and some of these are going to take years, but the time to start is now," said committee member Dr. Hiram C. Polk Jr., a surgery professor at the University of Louisville School of Medicine.

Breeders should stress durability with stallions, he said, which could be measured in percentage of foals that race and the average number of career races for those starters.

"I do think we need to do some very serious looking at some strains of horses that are producing uncommonly unsound horses, and that's going to be a huge problem," he said. "It gets into the economics of the stallion industry and the size of books (of mares that are bred to a stallion), and I think that will be dead square in the middle of an early agenda."

Polk said the committee is expected to move quickly.

The public attention to Eight Belles' death "confirms that we have some work to do and should do it promptly," Polk said.

Asked whether the committee's work could result in a push for a national regulatory body for racing, Polk said, "I hope it doesn't have to be done that way."

Instead, Polk said the committee could develop model rules that racing jurisdictions such as Kentucky could adopt.

A Jockey Club spokesman said the first meeting -- which could be a conference call -- will be Wednesday. Details of the closed meeting will be released afterward.

The recommendations from the two Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summits at Keeneland Race Course -- in September 2006 and this March -- will be a starting point, according to Phipps' announcement.

The Jockey Club and the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation sponsored those summits, which dealt with many of the same issues.

"We will reach out to involve others in the industry, and we will do everything in our power to encourage changes that will benefit the breed in any way," Phipps' release said. "We will do this in a timely manner."

Polk said he would like the committee to operate more publicly than the summits -- which included open and closed sessions.

The National Thoroughbred Racing Association and the Breeders' Cup applauded the committee's creation.

"The NTRA supports the Committee's work and plans to work closely with it," NTRA president Alex Waldrop said in a release. " … At the same time, we will redouble our efforts to promote thoroughbred racing to core and target fans as the safe, responsible sport that it is. Now more than ever, no practice, policy or tradition is more important than those that best protect and promote the health of the thoroughbred athlete."

Lisa Underwood, executive director of the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority, also welcomed the committee's formation.

"It's great to have summits and conferences, but we all need to work together to make sure we continue forward and actually implement some of the recommendations," she said.

Bob Beck, the new chairman of the KHRA, will ask that board at its May 19 meeting to appoint its own committee to review health and safety issues.

Washington Post, May 9, 2008

Jockey Club Creates Safety Committee to Study Equine Health

By The Associated Press
NEW YORK -- The Jockey Club has formed a committee to study equine health, including track safety and the rules of racing, five days after the death of the filly Eight Belles at the Kentucky Derby.

Ogden Mills Phipps, chairman of The Jockey Club, said Thursday that the committee would be asked to review every facet of equine health, ranging from breeding practices to medication, and to recommend actions to be taken by the horse industry to improve the health and safety of thoroughbreds.

The move by the 114-year-old Jockey Club, the breed registry for North American thoroughbreds, was praised by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association.

"The Thoroughbred Safety Committee is a major step that will provide the examination of the horse welfare and safety issues so badly needed in the wake of recent catastrophic injuries," said NTRA president Alex Waldrop. "Now, more than ever, no practice, policy or tradition is more important than those that best protect and promote the health of the thoroughbred athlete."

Eight Belles, the first filly since 1999 to run in the Derby, finished 4 3/4 lengths behind favorite Big Brown. Shortly after the finish line, she collapsed with two broken front ankles. The shocking scene reminded racing fans of Barbaro's horrific injury two years ago in the Preakness.

Though her death has sparked renewed interest in improving safety measures within the industry, some trainers remain wary of any quick fixes.

Big Brown trainer Rick Dutrow said Thursday that while he supports "anything that would be safer for horses," he doesn't think synthetic surfaces such as the ones installed at tracks in California are the answer.

"You need good track superintendents," Dutrow said. "If they had good track superintendents, they wouldn't have to go to all these synthetic tracks (because) you'd have guys that would know what they're doing."

Reade Baker, trainer for Preakness entry Kentucky Bear, said while artificial surfaces "might be the thing of the future," they need more study. Baker said he'd prefer to see more stringent racing standards across the board.

"Everybody needs to be stricter," he said. "Vets need to scratch more horses than they do. Sometimes when you run horses in other jurisdictions, they get by in one and wouldn't get by in another."

Larry Bramlage, the on-call veterinarian when Eight Belles was euthanized, is among seven people on the Thoroughbred Safety Committee.

Baltimore Sun, May 9, 2008

Jockey Club Panel to Eye Safety Steps
Committee to suggest, not make rules

By Sandra McKee
Less than a week after the death of filly Eight Belles in the Kentucky Derby, The Jockey Club said today it is forming a committee to study thoroughbred safety and make recommendations to improve the industry.

Chairing the seven-member committee will be Stuart S. Janney III, whose parents owned Ruffian, who was bred at their Maryland farm Locust Hill. The Hall of Fame filly was euthanized in 1975, when she broke her leg while leading a match race against Foolish Pleasure at Belmont Park.

Janney, chairman of Bessemer Trust Company and Bessemer Securities Corporation and a longtime Maryland resident, declined an interview request, saying he preferred to wait until after the committee had its first meeting.

But committee member Hiram C. Polk Jr., a thoroughbred owner and breeder and professor of surgery at the University of Louisville School of Medicine, said the task is far-ranging.

"The unsoundness of the contemporary racehorse is a hugely [complicated] thing," he said. "You're talking about shoes, the way they're bred, conditions of racetracks, how the tracks are maintained, how the horses are trained, the weather, medication, whips, vet practices. It's an incredible list -- a lot of little things put under the microscope."

The committee, which will begin by reviewing recommendations from the two Welfare and Safety of the Race Horse summits staged over the past two years, will hold its first meeting Wednesday.

Though the committee will have no power to make the industry implement its suggestions, Polk said the idea is to use the cachet of The Jockey Club to get safety issues "put on the fact track and moved along."

In Delaware, trainer Larry Jones, who has been vilified by animal rights groups for running his filly against colts in the Derby, said he hopes something good can come from the committee but no one should be looking for a perfect fix.

"Could something good come from it to make things safer? Yes," he said. "Will it make horse racing foolproof? No. ... It can't be done."

Jones expressed no second thoughts today about his decision to run Eight Belles. She finished second in the Derby, 4¾ lengths behind Big Brown. She was only the second filly in history to finish second in the race, and her performance was the best by any horse against Big Brown in his four career races.

"I have a picture of her 50 yards from where she fell," Jones said. "In that picture, she's a happy horse. She has no idea any thing is wrong or that anything is about to go wrong."

Today during a conference call, it became apparent how difficult the committee's job will be, as longtime horsemen voiced disagreement over what one thing could be done to make racing safer for the horses.

Rick Dutrow, who trains Big Brown, said synthetic tracks are not the answer.

"Good track superintendents are the most important thing," Dutrow said. "If they had good track superintendents, they wouldn't have to go to all these synthetic tracks. Get a good track man, put in a good dirt surface and race."

But trainer Reade Baker, who trains Preakness entry Kentucky Bear, said the best thing for horse safety would be "more stringent racing standards" that would enable vets to scratch more suspect horses.

Meanwhile, Dr. Larry Bramlage, the on-call vet at this year's Derby, said breeding is at fault.

Lexington Herald-Leader, May 9, 2008

Bold Action Sought on Safety Issues

By Maryjean Wall
As a scientist who studies why horses break their legs, Dr. Wayne McIlwraith is glad to see industry groups meeting to study what can be done to improve racehorse safety.

The National Thoroughbred Racing Association's board of directors will meet Friday, and The Jockey Club's newly formed Thoroughbred Safety Committee will meet Wednesday.

But, if horse racing is going to talk a better game, in McIlwraith's view the industry needs to walk the walk.

"I just feel like, some areas of the industry, they're not living it," said McIlwraith, a professor and director of the Orthopedic Research Center at Colorado State University.

On Thursday, McIlwraith became the second internationally known equine orthopedic surgeon to comment on racehorse safety.

Dr. Larry Bramlage of Lexington told the Wall Street Journal: "We are at a crisis state. ... Pretty soon we won't have the animals that can go in more than one race."

"I just sent him an e-mail," McIlwraith said Thursday, telling how he congratulated Bramlage on his bold stand.

"We've got to get bold," McIlwraith added.

McIlwraith has seen a good number of broken horse bones in his veterinary career. He travels to California every other week to perform orthopedic surgery on racehorses. He also participates with an engineer from the University of Maine, Mick Peterson, in studies on the safety of racing surfaces.

Like other scientists who study fractures and racehorse safety, McIlwraith contends the industry has come far in the two years since Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro broke a hind leg in the 2006 Preakness.

He said it is his hope that the body of knowledge scientists have been accumulating will help Thoroughbred racing make great strides forward in safety in the next few years.

Regardless of the scientific knowledge becoming available, people still need to select racehorses for durability and not so much for speed, according to McIlwraith.

"People are buying the fastest horse and we're at the critical stage of effectiveness of racing versus makeup of the body," he said. "We may have gone too far evolving to the fastest, lightest animal."

McIlwraith's research with Peterson looks at the way track surfaces perform and how they hold up under ambient conditions, including moisture content.

Their research method employs a robotic hoof tester to measure the vertical stiffness of both dirt and synthetic racetracks. Vertical stiffness of a track has been linked to the likelihood of fractures, according to The Blood-Horse magazine.

The robotic tester also measures horizontal shear strength, which has been linked to the likelihood of soft-tissue injuries such as ligament and tendon ruptures.

Peterson said they are also measuring moisture content, which has been most helpful on dirt tracks. For this, they use a GPS system.

"Eventually, I see this going into the data base (begun last year by The Jockey Club) to see what it is we need to control," Peterson said.

On synthetic tracks, they measure the wax content to try to determine when and when not to add wax to the fibers that form the surface material.

Peterson cited numbers produced in a database being compiled from 60 tracks by a veterinarian in Florida, Dr. Mary Scollay, for the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation in Lexington.

"We're seeing a 25 percent reduction" of catastrophic fractures on synthetic tracks, Peterson said.

Those figures, frequently cited recently in the wake of Eight Belles' breakdown after the Derby, show 1.47 deaths per 1,000 starts on synthetics and 2.07 deaths per 1,000 races on dirt tracks. The Derby is run on a dirt track.

"But it's not all the track," said Peterson, speaking in generalities about track surfaces. Researchers have found a number of other factors contributing to fractured horse bones.

McIlwraith agreed.

"Surfaces are obviously an issue," he said. "Synthetics were initially pushed as a panacea but people have to learn how to maintain them. Properly maintained, they lower the injury rate."

Other factors contributing to breakdowns include the height of the toe grab and the traction mechanism on the front horseshoes. This information has been widely disseminated within the industry.

Researchers have also learned that major leg fractures are the end result of microfractures that could have begun quite some time before the main event.

Dr. Sue Stover at the University of California, Davis, led researchers in making these two major discoveries.

As a result of her work, California has a rule limiting the height of the toe grab to 4 millimeters or less. In many states, there is no such limit.

Stover's work was groundbreaking. More recently, she has begun to demonstrate that horses are returning to racing too soon after injuries or time away from the track, exposing them to greater risk of injury.

In her lab at UC Davis, "we're trying to work synergistically (with other research efforts), taking the material properties of track surfaces and applying them to a computer model of the forelimb, to simulate racing across the track surface," she said.

She said she hopes to test an infinite number of possibilities of track surface composition this way, so that engineers can design a model track.

Ed Bowen, president of the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation, also agreed that research is showing the synthetic tracks to be a step forward -- although the synthetics appear to be only one part of the puzzle researchers have been solving.

When combined with Stover's discovery that many injuries are the result of pre-existing conditions -- and that toe grabs also play a role in breakdowns -- racing has something to work with.

McIlwraith said he and others hope to have a kit available commercially in the next couple of years that veterinarians can use in the field to detect the micro-injuries.

But he says the industry is also going to have to change, and to begin to reward durability more than speed.

Daily Racing Form, May 10, 2008

Jockey Club Forms Health and Safety Panel

By Matt Hegarty
The Jockey Club has formed a seven-member committee that will issue recommendations on how "to improve the health and safety of Thoroughbreds" in the wake of the death last Saturday of the filly Eight Belles shortly after she finished second in the Kentucky Derby, the organization announced on Thursday.

The committee will be asked to review breeding practices, medication, the rules of racing, and track surfaces, according to the Jockey Club. A conference call to discuss the initial priorities of the committee has been scheduled for Wednesday, according to committee members.

The breakdown and subsequent euthanization of Eight Belles has become a flash point of criticism of the racing industry over the past week. Her death followed the high-profile breakdowns of George Washington in last year's Breeders' Cup Classic at Monmouth Park and the death of 2006 Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro from injuries he suffered in the Preakness Stakes.

The Jockey Club maintains the official breed registry of the North American racehorse. It does not have any power to mandate rules in racing states, though the organization has sponsored two summits over the past 20 months focusing on health and safety issues in an effort to influence policy makers in the sport.

Dr. Hiram Polk, a University of Louisville professor of surgery who has been appointed to the committee, said on Thursday that the committee "has a lot of hard work in front of it" to address the criticisms of the racing industry following the death of Eight Belles. He acknowledged that the committee will not be able to force any tracks or breeders to adopt its recommendations, but said that the committee will attempt to identify feasible recommendations that can be adopted without significant hardship.

"We're not going to send thunderbolts down," said Polk, who is a Thoroughbred owner and breeder and participated in the two Jockey Club summits. "You want to come up with ideas that people can buy into, recommendations that you can take to racing commissions that can be implemented, ideas and information that can influence the trends at the sales."

Much of the criticism of the racing industry since the death of Eight Belles has been focused on the filly's trainer, Larry Jones, and her rider, Gabriel Saez, along with standard racing practices such as the use of the whip and race-day medications. Polk said that the criticism of Jones and Saez was misguided, but that racing should be doing a better job of explaining the many factors that cause breakdowns so that those types of comments are not taken seriously.

"Everyone had to get behind this idea that we are aware of these problems and that we are addressing them in a meaningful way," he said.

The other members of the committee are Stuart Janney III, the chairman of Bessemer Trust Company and a Thoroughbred owner and breeder, who will serve as chairman; John Barr, a real-estate developer who owns horses; James Bell, the president of Darley USA; Dr. Larry Bramlage, a partner in Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital; Donald Dizney, the owner of Double Diamond Farm in Florida; and Dell Hancock, the co-owner of Claiborne Farm outside of Lexington.

Thoroughbredtimes.com, May 15, 2008

New Safety Committee Commits to Action

By Frank Angst
In its first meeting, the members of the Jockey Club’s Thoroughbred Safety Committee emphasized putting ideas into action.

Safety committee Chairman Stuart Janney III said the group, formed after the fatal breakdown of Eight Belles following her second-place finish in this year’s Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1), would focus on putting ideas into practice.

“There is good work to build on,” said Janney, a prominent owner and current Jockey Club steward. “Where we’d like to see the industry make real progress is the implementation of some key things.

“Good work has been done in many areas over the past 18 months, but a number of sound recommendations and proposed rule changes have not been adopted quickly enough. That is one area that we as an industry need to improve upon going forward.”

As an example, Janney cited the October 2006 recommendation of the first Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit on toe grabs, which quickly became an Association of Racing Commissioners International Model Rule that allows for, at most, a four-millimeter toe grab in front horseshoes.

“I think that rule has only been adopted in four jurisdictions,” Janney said.

The seven committee members will use information gathered at the two Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summits as a base. It also plans to meet with experts on various safety issues and plans to address concerns that specifically followed the Eight Belles breakdown.

“I think the committee is in real agreement of taking an expansive view on the topics we will address,” Janney said. “We all know that many issues have been raised and we intend to address them.”

The committee conducted a two-hour teleconference on May 13 and plans to meet in person on May 27 in Lexington and on June 4 in New York. The committee hopes to announce recommendations on August 17 in Saratoga Springs at the Jockey Club’s Round Table Conference on Matters Pertaining to Racing.

Janney said the committee realizes recommendations will not be enough.

“There are probably some things that are enforceable through the Jockey Club but I’d be the first to tell you that they’re relatively few,” Janney said. “We’re not going to limit our scope of what we’re looking at and having opinions on to the things that the Jockey Club can wave a wand and say, ‘That’s what we’re going to do.’ “

Other committee members include California owner-breeder John Barr, Darley USA President Jimmy Bell, Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital Partner Larry Bramlage, D.V.M., Florida-based owner-breeder Donald Dizney, Claiborne Farm co-owner Dell Hancock, and owner-breeder Hiram Polk Jr., who served on the steering committee of the second Summit. Each is a member of The Jockey Club.

“All of us come from participating in various parts of the industry. We intend to work with the other parts of the industry and we’re going to use this committee as a bully pulpit to be persuasive on certain matters,” Janney said. “We’re going to go to other people in the industry and say, ‘This is how we feel and how are you going to help us?’ Many reports have been written over the years and many things have not been implemented.

“We don’t think it’s an adequate response to simply point out where we would like to go. We’re going to have to do a fair amount of work on how we get there.”

Bloodhorse.com, May 15, 2008

Safety Panel to Serve as “Bully Pulpit”

By Tom LaMarra
The Jockey Club acknowledges it has limits on what it can mandate in the area of equine health and safety, but it does plan to use its new Thoroughbred Safety Committee as a “bully pulpit” to bring about change.

The committee was formed just days after the breakdown of the filly Eight Belles in the May 3 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I). Eight Belles’ death generated intense national attention that largely focused on equine safety on the racetrack.

The committee met for the first time May 14, and plans to meet again May 27 in Lexington and June 4 in New York. The committee has established a timeline for regular meetings that will focus on breeding practices, medication, racing surfaces, and the rules of Thoroughbred racing.

Committee chairman Stuart Janney III, who chairs the seven-member panel, said during a May 15 media teleconference the group plans to solicit input from many industry groups and hopes to form a consensus on key issues.

“We’re in the process of figuring out who we want to hear from on various issues,” Janney said. “There are a number of groups beyond The Jockey Club that do very important work on welfare issues. We took an expansive view of the topic. A number of issues have been raised, and we intend to address them.”

Janney reserved comments on specifics but did say it’s no longer adequate to simply point out problems and propose solutions. He said there are “relatively few” things The Jockey Club can enforce as a breed registry, so it will have to take another approach.

“We’re going to use the committee as a bully pulpit to be persuasive on certain matters,” Janney said.

Information already gleaned by two meetings of the Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit figures in the committee’s efforts. Janney said there have been good recommendations; the problem is they haven’t been implemented fast enough.

The Thoroughbred Safety Committee is tentatively planning to announce its initial recommendations at The Jockey Club Round Table Conference Aug. 17 in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Some may be released before that date.

Other committee members are John Barr, Jimmy Bell, Dr. Larry Bramlage, Donald Dizney, Dell Hancock, and Dr. Hiram Polk Jr. Each is a member of The Jockey Club.

Thoroughbred Daily News, May 16, 2008

Thoroughbred Safety Committee Holds First Meeting

The Jockey Club’s Thoroughbred Safety Committee held its first meeting Wednesday afternoon to discuss its objectives. The seven-member panel convened for the two-hour conference call. “I thought it was a very useful meeting,” said Committee Chairman Stuart Janney III in a teleconference yesterday.

“We decided on some of the topics we are going to address and who we want to hear from on these topics, and we can now begin assembling these groups and individuals. We can build on the good work done during the two Welfare and Safety Summits.”

He added, “We want to see how far along we are in implementing the things called for during the Summits. Our concerns are clearly along those lines; where the recommendation has sound grounding in science and research, we want to see that it gets done.”

Janney did not expand on the specific topics to be addressed, instead saying, “I don’t think we will focus specifically on what happened at the Kentucky Derby, but many issues have been raised, and if it has been thrown out there as an area of concern, we’re going to want to address it. That’s not to say, at the end of everything, we won’t look at some of the issues and say, ‘We don’t believe that’s a problem.’ I’d be surprised if that’s not the conclusion on some issues, but I think it’s important that the Committee has an opinion about them.”

While Janney acknowledged that The Jockey Club has only limited authority to enforce change in the industry, he remarked, “We want to use this as a bully pulpit. We can go to other people in the industry and say, ‘This is how we feel--how can you help us?’”

The Committee has scheduled two upcoming meetings, set for May 27 in Lexington and June 4 in New York.

Lexington Herald-Leader, May 16, 2008

Safety Panel Chief Plays Down Impact
But committee won’t limit its scope

By Janet Patton
Thoroughbred racing's newest safety committee plans to pressure the industry to step up implementation of many previously recommended measures.

But Stuart S. Janney III, chairman of the panel, said Thursday that there might be little they can do beyond providing a bully pulpit.

"Probably there are some things enforceable through the Jockey Club, but very few," Janney said in a media conference call.

He said they won't limit themselves to issues that can be directly changed.

The Jockey Club's Thoroughbred Safety Committee, established in the wake of the fatal breakdown of second-place finisher Eight Belles in the Kentucky Derby, will look at various topics, including breeding practices, medication, track surfaces and the rules of racing.

The Jockey Club is the North American Thoroughbred registry and keeps racing, breeding and wagering statistics. But the sport has no governing body, and each state is regulated individually, without uniformity.

Janney said the panel will build on research and recommendations of two previous welfare and safety summits in October 2006 and March 2008.

"Without endorsing everything that was said there, where there has been good grounding in science ... we want to see it get done," he said.

The panel won't focus specifically on the filly's death at Churchill Downs. Just after finishing second in the Derby, Eight Belles broke both front legs and had to be euthanized immediately on the track.

"What has occurred is an opportunity to make some progress because people are focused on horse welfare," Janney said. "And there's been a broad acknowledgement that we need to do a better job."

Only in the last few years has racing begun keeping widespread records on horse injuries in racing. Few states have implemented preliminary recommendations, such as banning horseshoes with toe-grabs, or banning anabolic steroids.

"We don't think it's an adequate response to say here's where we want to go," Janney said.

The panel held its first meeting by teleconference on Wednesday. It will meet May 27 in Lexington and June 4 in New York, and members hope to make recommendations at the Jockey Club's annual round-table conference in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., in August.

Daily Racing Form, May 17, 2008

Committee Sets Schedule

By Matt Hegarty
A committee formed recently by the Jockey Club to study health and safety issues for horses plans to issue its final recommendations by mid-August, the committee said after meeting for the first time on Monday.

The Jockey Club formed the committee in the wake of the death of Eight Belles shortly after the 3-year-old filly finished second in the Kentucky Derby on May 3. The death became a lightning rod to critics of racing both inside and outside of the sport.

The committee met via conference call on Wednesday afternoon. The seven members of the committee had been asked to review documents that had been developed as part of two health and safety summits sponsored by the Jockey Club over the past 20 months prior to the call. The most recent summit was held in April.

During the conference call, the committee set a timeline for regular meetings to discuss breeding practices, medication, track surfaces, and rules of racing, according to a release from the committee. The summit has produced standing committees that focus on many of the same topics.

Two meetings were scheduled, for May 27 in Lexington, Ky., and June 4 in New York. The committee will hope to deliver its final recommendations during the Aug. 17 Round Table Conference on Matters Pertaining to Racing, an annual event put on by the Jockey Club.

Louisville Courier-Journal, June 17, 2008

Jockey Club Recommends Steroid, Shoeing, Whip Changes

By Gregory Hall
The Jockey Club’s Thoroughbred Safety Committee today recommended regulating steroids in race training and racing, banning a style of horseshoe called toe grabs and reforming rules on whips.

The committee was formed on May 8 after the May 3 fatal breakdown of Eight Belles after her second-place finish in the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs.

While the committee will look at other areas, the subjects identified today by the committee already had been the subject of some debate by racing officials in recent years.

“Steroids, toe grabs and whip issues were all first identified at our Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summits,” Stuart S. Janney III, chairman of the Thoroughbred Safety Committee, said in a statement. “We feel strongly that these recommendations and actions will enhance the health and safety of both our equine and human athletes and further ensure the integrity of our sport. Numerous industry organizations have already expressed strong support for these recommendations, and we look forward to collaborating with them to get these changes implemented.”

With anabolic steroids, the committee calls for all North American racing authorities to adopt a model rule that bans most anabolic steroids, except for four that cannot be administered within 30 days or more before a race.

The committee says that effectively eliminates the use of all anabolic steroids in the race training and racing of thoroughbreds.

The shoeing rules also are recommended as soon as possible or by Dec. 31. In the interim, individual racetracks are called on to ban so-called turn downs through “house” rules.

In regard to use of the whip or riding crop, the committee recommends that they be limited to ones approved by the Racing Commissioners International’s Rules Committee in consultation with The Jockeys’ Guild.

Also, the committee is calling for rules to be developed on mandatory shock-absorbing characteristics of a whip and the prohibition of striking a horse with the arm raised above shoulder height.

Bloodhorse.com, June 17, 2008

Ban on Steroids, Toe grabs Recommended

By Blood Horse Staff
The Thoroughbred Safety Committee announced June 17 that it is recommending the elimination of steroids in race training and racing, a ban on toe grabs, and a series of whip-related reforms, all aimed at improving safety and integrity in Thoroughbred racing.

The recommendations are the first from the committee which was formed and announced by The Jockey Club on May 8.

The committee has scheduled additional meetings over the next 60 days to investigate and discuss additional recommendations on other critical issues, including the use of therapeutic medications, illegal drugs and prohibited practices; substantially increased penalties, including lifetime suspensions, for major rule violations; best practices and accreditation standards for drug testing laboratories; more research on the safety factors associated with all racing surfaces — dirt, synthetic and turf; and breeding and training of Thoroughbreds.

The committee will present an update on its activities and additional findings and recommendations at The Jockey Club’s 56th annual Round Table Conference on Matters Pertaining to Racing on Sunday, Aug. 17, at the Gideon Putnam Resort and Spa in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

“Steroids, toe grabs and whip issues were all first identified at our Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summits,” said Stuart S. Janney III, chairman of the Thoroughbred Safety Committee. “After closely examining each of them in detail and talking to many individuals with expertise in each area over the past several weeks, we feel strongly that these recommendations and actions will enhance the health and safety of both our equine and human athletes and further ensure the integrity of our sport. Numerous industry organizations have already expressed strong support for these recommendations, and we look forward to collaborating with them to get these changes implemented.”

In regard to steroids, the committee calls for:
-The immediate adoption by all North American racing authorities of the RCI Model Rule on Androgenic Anabolic Steroids that was based on Racing Medication and Testing Consortium recommendations, which effectively eliminate the use of all anabolic steroids in the race training and racing of Thoroughbreds.

--All North American racing authorities to implement the model rule no later than December 31, 2008.

In regard to shoes and hoof care, the committee calls for:

--An immediate ban on toe grabs other than 2-millimeter wear plates, turn downs, jar caulks, stickers and any other traction devices worn on the front shoes of Thoroughbred horses while racing or training on all racing surfaces.

--The Association of Racing Commissioners’ International (RCI) and all North American racing authorities to implement this ban by rule as soon as possible, but no later than December 31, 2008, and for all racetracks to consider immediately implementing this ban by “house rule” in the interim.

In regard to use of the whip or riding crop, the committee recommends that:

--Only riding crops approved by the RCI Model Rules Committee, in consultation with the Jockeys’ Guild, be allowed in flat racing.

--Several specifications and new rules be initiated, including one regarding mandatory shock-absorbing characteristics, as well as the prohibition of striking a horse with the arm [raised] above shoulder height.

--Horses be subject to an inspection after each race by a regulatory or track veterinarian who will report his or her findings to the stewards.

--The Association of Racing Commissioners’ International (RCI) and all North American racing authorities adopt these amendments to the RCI Model Rule on “use of the whip” as soon as possible, but no later than December 31, 2008.

In addition to Janney, the Thoroughbred Safety Committee includes John Barr, James G. (Jimmy) Bell, Dr. Larry Bramlage, Donald R. Dizney, Dell Hancock and Dr. Hiram C. Polk Jr. Each is a member of The Jockey Club.

The Jockey Club, founded in 1894 and dedicated to the improvement of Thoroughbred breeding and racing, is the breed registry for North American Thoroughbreds.

Associated Press, June 17, 2008

Safety Panel Calls for Steroid Ban for Racing

A safety panel created after filly Eight Belles' fatal run in the Kentucky Derby is calling for a steroid ban and other reforms for the sport.

The Jockey Club's panel released its first set of recommendations Tuesday. Besides calling for the elimination of steroids, the group also wants to ban toe grabs and change rules regarding the use of the whip by jockeys.

More meetings are scheduled to discuss other ideas, such as how to make tracks safer.

The Jockey Club registers all thoroughbreds in the country. Members of the group will be in Washington on Thursday when a congressional subcommittee holds a hearing on the thoroughbred racing industry.

Thoroughbredtimes.com, June 17, 2008

Safety Committee Recommends Uniform Adoption of Steroid Ban

The Thoroughbred Safety Committee, formed by The Jockey Club after Eight Belles’s death following the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) last month, has issued its initial recommendations that call for the elimination of steroids in race training and racing, a ban on toe grabs, and a series of whip regulations.

The committee seeks the immediate adoption by all North American racing authorities of the Association of Racing Commissioners’ International model rule that severely restricts the use of all anabolic steroids in training and racing.

The model rule was based on Racing Medication and Testing Consortium recommendations that ban all steroids except for stanozolol, nandrolone, testosterone, and boldenone, which are permitted at trace levels. The committee seeks implementation of the rule by all North American racing authorities by no later than December 31.

The announcement on Tuesday of the steroid recommendation came two days before more than a dozen industry officials will appear before a congressional subcommittee looking into safety issues in Thoroughbred racing.

For shoes and hoof care, the committee calls for an immediate ban on toe grabs other than two-millimeter wear plates, turn downs, jar caulks, stickers and any other traction devices worn on the front shoes of Thoroughbred horses while racing or training on all racing surfaces. The committee asks for the Association of Racing Commissioners’ International (RCI) and all North American racing authorities to implement this ban by rule as soon as possible, but no later than December 31, 2008, and for all racetracks to consider immediately implementing this ban by “house rule” in the interim.

In regard to use of the whip or riding crop, the committee recommends that only riding crops approved by the RCI model rules committee, in consultation with the Jockeys’ Guild, be allowed in flat racing. The safety committee also seeks several specifications and new rules, including one regarding mandatory shock-absorbing characteristics, as well as the prohibition of striking a horse with the arm raised above shoulder height.

Horses also would be subject to an inspection after each race by a regulatory or track veterinarian who would report their findings to the stewards. The committee asks RCI and all North American racing authorities to adopt the amendments to the RCI model rule on use of the whip as soon as possible, but no later than December 31.

“Steroids, toe grabs, and whip issues were all first identified at our Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summits,” said Stuart S. Janney III, chairman of the Thoroughbred Safety Committee.
“After closely examining each of them in detail and talking to many individuals with expertise in each area over the past several weeks, we feel strongly that these recommendations and actions will enhance the health and safety of both our equine and human athletes and further ensure the integrity of our sport. Numerous industry organizations have already expressed strong support for these recommendations, and we look forward to collaborating with them to get these changes implemented.”

Bill Farish, the chairman of Breeders’ Cup Ltd., said the Breeders’ Cup board unanimously endorsed the recommendations.

“We urge all segments of the industry to work together with state regulators to adopt necessary rules and regulations to immediately implement these recommendations including strong penalties for any violations,” said Farish, the general manager of Lane’s End in Versailles, Kentucky. “We look forward to the committee continuing its work to address other major issues related to the safety and welfare of Thoroughbreds including the potential for further restrictions on race day medication and ongoing research into the safest available race track surfaces.”

The committee also included endorsements from the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, the National Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, the Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, Racing Commissioners International, the American Association of Equine Practitioners, and the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium along with its recommendations.

The safety committee has scheduled additional meetings over the next 60 days to investigate and consider additional recommendations on other issues, including the use of therapeutic medications, illegal drugs and prohibited practices; substantially increased penalties, including lifetime suspensions, for major rule violations; best practices and accreditation standards for drug testing laboratories; more research on the safety factors associated with all racing surfaces—dirt, synthetic and turf; and breeding and training of Thoroughbreds.

The committee will present an update on its activities and additional findings and recommendations at The Jockey Club’s 56th annual Round Table Conference on Matters Pertaining to Racing on August 17 in Saratoga Springs, New York.

In addition to Janney, the Thoroughbred Safety Committee includes John Barr, Jimmy Bell, Larry Bramlage, D.V.M., Donald Dizney, Dell Hancock and Hiram Polk Jr. Each is a member of The Jockey Club.

Lexington Herald-Leader, June 17, 2008

Thoroughbred Safety Group: Ban Steroids in Racing, Training

By Janet Patton
The Jockey Club’s Thoroughbred Safety Committee wants to ban steroids in racing and training; to ban certain kinds of traction devices on horseshoes; and to reform the use of the whip — all by the end of the year.

“Steroids, toe grabs and whip issues were all first identified at our Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summits,” said Stuart S. Janney III, chairman of the safety committee, formed after the death of Eight Belles in the Kentucky Derby.

On steroids, the committee calls for:

— All North American racing jurisdictions to immediately adopt the Racing Commissioners International Model Rule on Androgenic Anabolic Steroids, based on the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium recommendations. This rule effectively bans steroids, except for four naturally-occurring compounds.
— All racing authorities to implement the rule no later than Dec. 31, 2008.

On horseshoes, the committee calls for:

— An immediate ban on toe grabs other than 2 mm wear plates, and several other traction devices worn on the front shoes of Thoroughbred horses while racing or training on all racing surfaces;
— For tracks to implement the change immediately through “house rules” and for regulators to make the ban permanent by Dec. 31, 2008.

On whips or riding crops, the committee calls for:

— The use of only riding crops approved by RCI in racing;
— Creation of mandatory shock-absorbing characteristics;
— Prohibition on striking a horse with the arm raised above shoulder height;
— Adoption of these changes by Dec. 31, 2008.

“We feel strongly that these recommendations and actions will enhance the health and safety of both our equine and human athletes and further ensure the integrity of our sport,” Janney said in a statement.

The committee announced its first recommendations Tuesday morning in a press release. More are likely to be announced in August.

The committee is also considering action on therapeutic medications, illegal drugs and prohibited substances; substantially increased penalties, including lifetime suspensions; better standards for drug testing labs; more research on racing surfaces; and breeding and training of Thoroughbreds.

The committee released statements of support from several key industry figures, including Alex Waldrop, president and CEO of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association; Bill Farish, chairman of the Breeders’ Cup; Joe Santanna, president and chairman of the National Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association; Bill Casner, chairman of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association; Alan Foreman, CEO of the Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association; Ed Martin, president and CEO of RCI; Dr. Eleanor Green, 2008 president of the American Association of Equine Practitioners; Dr. Scot Waterman, executive director of the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium; David Switzer, executive director of the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association/Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association.

The committee said it has received blanket endorsement of the three changes from Churchill Downs Inc., Keeneland Association, Magna Entertainment Corp., and the New York Racing Association.

New York Times, June 17, 2008

Horse Racing Group Proposes New Protections

By Joe Drape
In an effort to blunt the expected criticism from a Congressional subcommittee, the horse racing industry’s Thoroughbred Safety Committee recommended Tuesday that steroids and toe grabs be banned, and that new rules be implemented on the use of whips.

The changes were endorsed by 13 of the most powerful constituencies in the sport including breeders, veterinarians, horsemen and the operators of the nation’s largest tracks.

The proposals are the first recommendations from the committee, which was established by the Jockey Club after the filly Eight Belles, who finished second in the Kentucky Derby, broke down and was euthanized on the track after the race.

In the next 60 days, the committee will examine a wide range of issues involving thoroughbred safety and the integrity of the sport. It plans to offer recommendations on the use of therapeutic medications and illegal drugs, substantially stiffer penalties including lifetime bans for major rule violations, and better drug testing.

“Steroids, toe grabs and whip issues were all first identified at our Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summits,” said Stuart S. Janney III, chairman of the committee. “After closely examining each of them in detail and talking to many individuals with expertise in each area over the past several weeks, we feel strongly that these recommendations and actions will enhance the health and safety of both our equine and human athletes.”

Steroids are banned in 10 of the 38 states that allow racing and most of the remaining states, including New York, are in the process of implementing prohibitions on steroid use. The Racing Medication and Testing Consortium which designed the rules asked that the rules be adopted by the end of the year.

Dr. Scot Waterman, the executive director of the Racing Medication & Testing Consortium said, “When fully implemented by all states, this model rule on anabolic steroids will put the U.S. in concert with the way the rest of the racing world deals with anabolic steroids.”

The committee also called for an immediate ban on toe grabs and any other “traction devices worn on the front shoes of Thoroughbred horses while racing or training on all racing surfaces.” Veterinarians and researchers have contended that the devices put undue stress on the legs of thoroughbreds.

The recommendations concerning jockey’s whips include a mandatory shock-absorbing characteristic, as well “as the prohibition of striking a horse with the arm above shoulder height.” A regulatory or track veterinarian will inspect horses after each race, and report any abuse to the racing stewards.

The House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection will hold a hearing Thursday in Washington titled, “Breeding, Drugs, and Breakdowns: The State of Thoroughbred Racing and the Welfare of the Thoroughbred Racehorse.” Its chairman, Representative Bobby Rush, Democrat of Illinois, and ranking minority member, Ed Whitfield, Republican of Kentucky, may consider creating a central body to govern horse racing, similar to the British Horseracing Authority.

When the subcommittee announced the hearing last Wednesday, it made it clear that it intended to use the Interstate Horse Racing Act to enforce oversight of the industry. Congress could prohibit the offtrack betting that accounted for more than 90 percent of the $15.4 billion bet on thoroughbred racing in 2007.

Kristin Walker, a spokeswoman for Rep. Whitfield, said the congressman was flying back from Kentucky and could not be reached for comment.

The subcommittee requested, and received, statistics on horse fatalities over the past five years as well as a breakdown of trainers penalized for medication or performance-enhancing drug infractions in the last five years. In that time, 3,035 thoroughbreds, standardbreds and quarter horses have died at racing facilities, but not all of them on the racetrack or in racing-related accidents, according to statistics provided to the subcommittee by the Association of Racing Commissioners International. The R.C.I., a nonprofit trade association, concluded that over that five-year period there were 2,427,561 starters, and the number of deaths amounted to .125 percent

Of the approximately 15,000 licensed horse trainers in the United States, 1,335, or 8.9 percent, have been cited for medication violations, according to the R.C.I. Of the 1,897 individual medication violations during the past five years, slightly more than two-thirds — 67.6 percent — were violations for exceeding the allowable levels for therapeutic medications. There were 167 — or 1.1 percent —more severe violations where drugs were used clearly to enhance performance, according to the report.

The fact that disparate groups in what has often been a fractured industry endorsed the Thoroughbred Safety Committee’s recommendations shows Congress has gotten the sport’s attention. They include the owners of the Triple Crown tracks — Churchill Downs Inc., which hosts the Derby; Magna Entertainment Corp., which holds the Preakness Stakes, and the New York Racing Association, home of the Belmont Stakes.

In addition, the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, the National Horsemen’s Benevolent & Protective Association, and Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (TOBA) supported the measures.

Daily Racing Form, June 17, 2008

Jockey Club Safety Panel Calls for Reforms

By Matt Hegarty
A committee set up by The Jockey Club to issue recommendations seeking improvements in the health of the horse has called for racing jurisdictions to regulate anabolic steroids and ban toe-grab horseshoes by the end of the year, the committee said Tuesday.

The recommendations are the first issued by the Thoroughbred Safety Committee, which was set up by The Jockey Club on May 8 in the wake of Eight Belles's death after her second-place finish in the Kentucky Derby. The death of the filly focused intense scrutiny on the sport of horse racing and its practices.

The initial recommendations, which also include the adoption of new regulations over the use of the whip, have already been issued by other racing organizations. In fact, 10 states have already adopted a rule restricting anabolic-steroid use to four drugs that cannot be administered 30 days prior to a race, and most other major racing jurisdictions are in the process of adopting the rule. The rule was developed by the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium.

In addition, the Association of Racing Commissioners International, citing research conducted in California on the incidence of catastrophic injuries for horses wearing front-shoe toe grabs, has asked racing jurisdictions to ban the shoes, though only a few jurisdictions have adopted the ban.

In a release, the Thoroughbred Safety Committee said that it agreed with the medication consortium's specific regulation on the restriction of anabolic-steroid use, as well as the RCI's recommendation to ban toe grabs. The committee's reinforcement of those recommendations may give additional momentum to the efforts to adopt the rules.

For whips, the committee said that racing jurisdictions should only allow riding crops that are approved by the RCI Model Rules Committee, in consultation with the Jockeys' Guild, a riders' organization. In addition, the committee asked for specifications to be developed regarding shock-absorbency characteristics of approved whips, and for racing jurisdictions to adopt a prohibition against a jockey raising the whip above his or her shoulder. Similar rules are in place in England.

Washington Post, June 17, 2008

Safety Panel Calls for Steroid Ban for Racing

By The Associated Press
A safety panel created after filly Eight Belles' fatal run in the Kentucky Derby is calling for a steroid ban and other reforms for the sport.

More meetings are scheduled to discuss other ideas, such as how to make tracks safer.

Thoroughbredtimes.com, July 22, 2008

Jockey Club Launches Equine Injury Database

By Frank Angst
Thoroughbred racing expects to enter a new era of improved detail of racing injury statistics—on a national level—with the launch of the Jockey Club Equine Injury Database on Tuesday.

The injury database grew out of a proposal at the Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit in October 2006 in Lexington and follows a pilot program that started on June 1, 2007, in which 3,000 injury reports were received.

With improved reporting and compilation of racing injury statistics, the injury database is designed to:

• identify the frequency, types, and outcome of racing injuries using a standardized format that will generate valid statistics

• identify markers for horses at increased risk of injury

• serve as a data source for research directed at improving safety and preventing injuries.

The Jockey Club, through its subsidiaries InCompass Solutions Inc. and the Jockey Club Technology Services Inc., will underwrite the costs of operating the system. The injury database software will be provided free of charge to racetracks and racing organizations.

“The Jockey Club has devoted significant financial resources and technological expertise to the project from concept to implementation in order to ensure that the Equine Injury Database became a reality,” Jockey Club President Alan Marzelli said.

Besides funding the project’s development, The Jockey Club will use its central database infrastructure, pedigree data access, and Equibase race result data with the software. The injury database will use the InCompass Race Track Operations software applications used by every racetrack in North America. Many racetrack and regulatory veterinarians already use the system when performing pre-race veterinary exams.

As chairman of The Jockey Club’s Thoroughbred Safety Committee that was formed after the catastrophic injury to filly Eight Belles after this year’s Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1), Stuart Janney III said the database would provide critical information on racing injuries.

“The creation and launch of the Equine Injury Database system fills a glaring void in our industry,” Janney said. “We are encouraged by the interest and support received from racetracks during the pilot phase of the project, and we strongly recommend the same level of support and participation now that the system is fully operational.”

Marzelli credited the efforts of Kentucky Equine Medical Director Mary Scollay, D.V.M., and California Equine Medical Director Rick Arthur, D.V.M.

Bloodhorse.com, July 22, 2008

Jockey Club Launches Injury Database

The Jockey Club has launched the Equine Injury Database system that will provide the racing industry with its first national database of racing injuries. The Equine Injury Database grew out of a proposal first put forth at the Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit in Lexington in October 2006.

The primary objectives of the Equine Injury Database are to: identify the frequency, types and outcome of racing injuries using a standardized format that will generate valid statistics; identify markers for horses at increased risk of injury; and serve as a data source for research directed at improving safety and preventing injuries
The official launch of the Equine Injury Database follows a pilot program that ran from June 1, 2007, to July 12, 2008, whereby more than 3,000 injury reports were received and recorded. More recently, the system underwent comprehensive testing and review at racetracks in California.

Alan Marzelli, president of The Jockey Club, said, “The Jockey Club has devoted significant financial resources and technological expertise to the project from concept to implementation in order to ensure that the Equine Injury Database became a reality. The Equine Injury Database software module that enables racetracks and racing organizations to participate in the program will be provided free of charge. The Jockey Club, through two of its for-profit subsidiary companies, InCompass Solutions Inc. and The Jockey Club Technology Services Inc., will underwrite the cost of operating the system going forward as a service to the industry.”

Besides funding the development of the project, The Jockey Club is utilizing its central database infrastructure and its access to pedigree data and Equibase race result data. It also utilizes the InCompass Race Track Operations (RTO) software applications that are used by every racetrack in North America. (Many racetrack and regulatory veterinarians already use the RTO system when performing pre-race veterinary exams.)

“We are especially grateful to Dr. Mary Scollay and Dr. Rick Arthur for their assistance with the pilot program and system testing, and to all the regulatory veterinarians around the country who provided their expertise throughout the development of the Equine Injury Database,” said Marzelli.

Stuart Janney III, chairman of The Jockey Club’s Thoroughbred Safety Committee, said, “The creation and launch of the Equine Injury Database system fills a glaring void in our industry. We are encouraged by the interest and support received from racetracks during the pilot phase of the project, and we strongly recommend the same level of support and participation now that the system is fully operational.”

Louisville Courier-Journal, July 23, 2008

Jockey Club Completes Program to Build Horse Injury Database

By Gregory A. Hall
The Jockey Club announced yesterday the completion of a computer program for a national database of racing injuries.

The program follows a pilot effort begun last year. Data gathered from the pilot program has been input into the new program, said Mary Scollay, the equine medical director for the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission who started the pilot program while she was the racetrack veterinarian at two South Florida tracks.

The pilot program and the database are the result of suggestions made in October 2006 at the Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit in Lexington, Ky.

Almost 70 tracks have expressed an interest in participating, said Jockey Club spokesman Bob Curran. That is close to the number in the pilot program.

Racetracks and organizations can participate for free. The Jockey Club is paying for the system through two for-profit subsidiaries -- InCompass Solutions Inc. and The Jockey Club Technology Services Inc.

Participating tracks will have access to their own data but not to statistics from other tracks, officials said.

Curran said national results will be released when a statistically significant amount of data has been collected, which he said likely would be at year's end at the earliest.

The goals of the database include identifying the frequency, types and outcomes of injuries using a standardized format; identifying signs of horses at increased injury risk; and providing data for safety research.

The database system recently underwent testing at California tracks, according to The Jockey Club.

USA Today, July 23, 2008

Jockey Club Launches Horse Injury Database

By The Associated Press
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — A system for tracking injuries to thoroughbred racehorses is being enacted on a national level.

The Jockey Club on Tuesday announced the launch of the Equine Injury Database system for monitoring on-track racing injuries. Most major tracks already have been keeping track of injury data for the past year in a pilot program.

The Jockey Club is funding and developing the project. Kentucky equine medical director Mary Scollay developed the standardized reporting form for listing injuries.

Racehorse safety has received heightened public awareness with the high-profile deaths of Barbaro and Eight Belles.

A study by The Associated Press found at least 5,000 horse deaths reported at thoroughbred tracks since 2003.

Daily Racing Form, July 24, 2008

Jockey Club Starts Injury Database

By Glenye Cain Oakford
LEXINGTON, Ky. - The Jockey Club has launched horse racing's first nationwide database logging racing injuries, the organization announced Tuesday.

According to the Jockey Club's announcement, the database's objectives are to identify the frequency, types, and outcome of racing injuries using a standardized format that will generate valid statistics; identify markers for horses at increased risk of injury; and serve as a data source for research directed at improving safety and preventing injuries.

The database stems from discussions at the Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit, hosted by the Jockey Club in Lexington two years ago. Public attention to racehorse injuries had been heightened that year by Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro's breakdown in the Preakness Stakes; he was euthanized in January 2007 due to complications from his injuries. This year, racing found itself under increased public scrutiny again after Kentucky Derby runner-up Eight Belles fatally broke both ankles while galloping out after the Derby. Those deaths and the public backlash prompted a Congressional inquiry into horse injuries, steroid use, and other racing-related issues.

The Jockey Club tested a pilot program of the equine injury database from June 1, 2007, to July 12, 2008, logging more than 3,000 reports of horse injuries. Dr. Mary Scollay and Dr. Rick Arthur assisted the Jockey Club with the pilot program and system testing, and regulatory veterinarians around the country also provided information.

The database will be provided to participating racetracks and racing organizations free of charge.

"The racetracks' information will be available to them at any time," Jockey Club spokesman Bob Curran said, "and when we have what we feel is a statistically significant data set, then that would be made public."

Injured horses and their pedigrees will remain anonymous, as will specific racetracks' injury rates, in any information that is released to the public, Curran said.

About 70 racetracks so far have expressed interest in participating in the data collection, Curran said.

Bloodhorse.com, July 30, 2008

Equine Welfare Heads Round Table Agenda

From The Jockey Club
The Jockey Club’s Thoroughbred Safety Committee, which in June issued its initial recommendations calling for the elimination of anabolic steroids in training and racing, a ban on toe grabs, and a series of whip-related reforms, will provide an update on its activities and announce additional recommendations Aug. 17 at The Jockey Club Round Table in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

The program will be devoted almost exclusively to equine health and safety, medication, and Thoroughbred breeding.

The Thoroughbred Safety Committee is a standing committee of The Jockey Club that was formed in May to review every facet of equine health and to formulate recommended actions to be taken by the industry to improve health and safety in Thoroughbred racing. The committee has received widespread industry support and its initial recommendations have been endorsed by numerous organizations.

In addition to Stuart Janney III, chairman of the Thoroughbred Safety Committee, speakers at the Round Table will include Dr. Rick Arthur, equine medical director for the California Horse Racing Board; Dr. Larry Bramlage, co-owner of Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital and a member of the Thoroughbred Safety Committee; Bill Casner, president and co-owner of WinStar Farm; Alan Foreman, chairman and chief executive officer of the Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Associations Inc.; Jim Gagliano, executive vice president and chief administrative officer for The Jockey Club; David Haydon, president of InCompass Solutions; Jay Hickey, president of the American Horse Council; Matt Iuliano, vice president of registration services for The Jockey Club; and Dr. Mary Scollay, equine medical director for the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission.

The Round Table will be held at the Gideon Putnam Resort. It will run from 10 a.m.-noon EDT. A transcript of the conference will be available on The Jockey Club’s Web site (www.jockeyclub.com) a few days after the event.

Thoroughbredtimes.com, July 30, 2008

Round Table to Focus on Safety Issues

The Jockey Club’s Thoroughbred Safety Committee will provide an update on its activities and announce new recommendations when the 56th annual Round Table Conference on Matters Pertaining to Racing convenes on August 17 at Gideon Putnam Resort in Saratoga Springs, New York.

In June, the committee issued its initial recommendations, which called for the elimination of steroids in training and racing, a ban on toe grabs, and a series of whip-related reforms. The upcoming program will be devoted almost exclusively to equine health and safety, medication, and Thoroughbred breeding.

The committee was formed in May to review every facet of equine health and to formulate recommended actions to be taken by the industry to improve health and safety in Thoroughbred racing. Stuart Janney III serves as chairman of the committee, whose initial recommendations have been endorsed by numerous organizations.

In addition to Janney, speakers at the event will include:

Rick Arthur, D.V.M., equine medical director for the California Horse Racing Board
Larry Bramlage, D.V.M., co-owner of Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital and a committee member
Bill Casner, president and co-owner of WinStar Farm
Alan Foreman, chairman and chief executive officer of the Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Associations Inc.
Jim Gagliano, executive vice president and chief administrative officer for The Jockey Club
David Haydon, president of InCompass Solutions Inc.
James J. Hickey Jr., president of the American Horse Council
Matt Iuliano, vice president of registration services for The Jockey Club
Mary Scollay, D.V.M., equine medical director for the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission

A transcript of the conference will be available a few days after the event is held at http://www.jockeyclub.com.

Daily Racing Form, August 1, 2008

Round Table to Address Safety

By Matt Hegarty
The ongoing effort by the Jockey Club to examine health and safety issues for racehorses will be the dominant subject at the organization's Round Table Conference on Matters Pertaining to Racing on Aug. 17 in Saratoga Springs, the Jockey Club said on Wednesday.

Members of the Jockey Club's Thoroughbred Safety Committee are expected to present data on racehorse injuries and also issue recommendations for new racing rules designed to improve safety conditions. The committee was formed early this summer after the death of Eight Belles in the Kentucky Derby brought widespread scrutiny to the sport.

The committee has already issued recommendations that all states ban toe-grab horseshoes, adopt rules that regulate the administration of anabolic steroids, and implement a number of whip-related reforms.

Speakers at the Round Table will include Stuart Janney III, the chairman of the committee; Dr. Rick Arthur, the equine medical director of the California Horse Racing Board; Dr. Larry Bramlage, the co-owner of Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Kentucky; Bill Casner, the owner of WinStar Farm; Alan Foreman, the chief executive of the Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association; Jim Gagliano, the chief administrative officer of the Jockey Club; David Haydon, the president of InCompass Solutions, a company owned by the Jockey Club; James Hickey, the president of the American Horse Council; Matt Iuliano, vice president of registration services for the Jockey Club; and Dr. Mary Scollay, the equine medical director of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission.

Bloodhorse.com, August 17, 2008

Drug Testing Next Focus of Reform Plan

By Tom LaMarra

Calls to action aren’t new to The Jockey Club Round Table conference, but at this year’s meeting Aug. 17 in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., there appeared to be a sense of urgency. Public perception and the threat of federal invention have a way of moving things along.

In what a few attendees called the best Round Table in years, Thoroughbred industry representatives outlined a strategy for reforms in equine safety and drug testing. And The Jockey Club Thoroughbred Safety Committee, formed in early May, announced more recommendations, this time with a focus on medication.

Though changes have been in the works for years, the breakdown of the filly Eight Belles as she galloped out after this year’s Kentucky Derby (gr. I) triggered an intense push for national reforms such as bans on anabolic steroids and toe grabs. In his opening remarks at the Round Table, Jockey Club chairman Ogden “Dinny” Phipps said the effort is genuine.

“(Eight Belles) made the industry wake up and take notice of its problems,” Phipps said. “We are not recommending reforms to appease people. We are making them because we need to make them.”

The Thoroughbred Safety Committee issued four new recommendations, including creation of a task force to develop a business plan for equine drug testing and research; adoption and implementation of model rule classification guidelines and penalties by Dec. 31 of this year; prohibition of alkalinizing agents—“milkshakes”—by all racing jurisdictions, and adoption of racetrack “house rules” in the interim; and participation by all racing regulatory agencies in the equine industry database developed by The Jockey Club.

Stuart Janney III, chairman of the Thoroughbred Safety Committee, said the group has had five all-day meetings the past three months and received input from more than 40 industry stakeholders. The Jockey Club considers the safety panel a “standing committee,” which means its work isn’t temporary.

“There will be additional recommendations forthcoming, but I don’t have a timeline,” said Janney, who mentioned synthetic surfaces, use of the anti-bleeder medication Salix (formerly Lasix) in racehorses, and field size in the Kentucky Derby as issues that could be addressed by the committee.

Alan Foreman, chief executive officer of the Thoroughbred Racing Associations, recommended a plan to streamline equine drug testing and research. He said the horseracing industry spends more money—about $30 million a year—on drug testing than any other sport, but the public wouldn’t know it.

Foreman said the $30 million, which mostly comes from state funding, is spread over 18 laboratories and used inefficiently.

“Even the best (labs) don’t have the resources to do the testing needed,” Foreman said. “We’re spending the same amount as we did 20 years ago. Our system worked decades ago, but it won’t work now.”

Foreman called for creation of a research lab controlled by the racing industry; quick adoption of standards for all labs; consolidation of the lab system into perhaps a regional structure; investment in research and development to handle threats such as gene-doping; recruitment of post-graduate students interested in drug testing under a program that initially will be funded by the THA; and adoption of uniform guidelines issued by the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium, which Foreman called “the best response to the threat of federal intervention.”

“Everyone in this room is a steward of a national treasure,” Foreman said in reference to the racing industry. “I am willing to drop everything I’m doing to make these recommendations a reality.”

Funding remains a serious impediment given the fact state funding for racing regulators continues to decrease, yet demands increase. Regulators outlined their funding concerns in April during the Association of Racing Commissioners International annual meeting.

“There weren’t many new ideas here today, and the main issue has not been addressed,” RCI president Ed Martin said after the Round Table. "I would challenge (the industry) to match the money now spent on drug testing. There is no beef. Where’s the beef?”

Foreman later said much can be accomplished by redirecting funds and making the testing process more efficient by using fewer labs. He said reallocation of money would get the industry “much further along that it has ever been.”

National Thoroughbred Racing Association president and chief executive officer Alex Waldrop said the business plan that will be created by The Jockey Club could address funding for future drug-testing endeavors. “I think (the funding problem) is being acknowledged,” he said.

Round Table attendees were greeted at the Gideon Putnam Hotel by security officers summoned in case animal-rights demonstrators showed up. Toward the end of the two-hour conference, there was one protestor outside carrying a sign saying, “I am not PETA,” which stands for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

A similar demonstration took place outside the hotel where the American Horse Council convention was held in June.

Drf.com, August 17, 2008

Jockey Club Seeks Optimal Drug-Testing Plan

By Matt Hegarty

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - The Jockey Club will pay for the development of a business plan designed to envision the most ideal way for the racing industry to conduct drug testing and research into medications, officials of the organization said on Sunday at the annual Round Table Conference on Matters Pertaining to Racing.

Funding for the business plan was one of several recommendations made on Sunday by the Jockey Club's Thoroughbred Safety Committee, which was formed five days after the fatal injury suffered by Eight Belles following her second-place finish in the May 2 Kentucky Derby. The Round Table's two-hour program focused almost exclusively on ways to address the highly public criticisms of the sport following the filly's death, underlining the problems in the public perception of racing.

Other recommendations included the development of strict standards for laboratories that conduct drug testing; the development of a uniform request-for-proposals that would be used when racing commissions evaluate drug-testing laboratories; and the development and maintenance of a facility that would be used to freeze post-race samples. The proposed business plan would incorporate the costs and implementations of the recommendations, Jockey Club officials said.

In addition, the committee recommended that racing commissions require racetracks to participate in the collection of data on racehorse injuries as a condition of licensing. Also, the committee recommended that racetracks and racing commissions fund post-mortem examinations of all racehorses who die on the track and develop standardized procedures for conducting pre-race and post-race veterinary examinations.

In late July, the Jockey Club launched a database tracking racehorse injuries, and the vast majority of racetracks have already agreed to participate in the project. Chris Scherf, the executive vice president of the Thoroughbred Racing Associations, said in an interview at the conference that "about a half-dozen tracks" have not agreed to participate yet, but he said that several of those tracks have not been approached about participating.

The Thoroughbred Safety Committee had already issued recommendations for states and racetracks to adopt rules regulating the administration of anabolic steroids and a ban on toe-grab horseshoes. Many states were in the process of adopting the rules and toe-grab ban, but the committee's endorsement of the measures has provided additional momentum to the efforts, racing officials have said.

Many racing organizations have been focusing on addressing public concerns about the safety of racehorses because of the scrutiny of the sport's practices since the death of Eight Belles. In July, that scrutiny reached a high point with a Congressional hearing in which federal legislators took the industry to task for its medication policies and the frequency of racehorse deaths, but the volume of that criticism has abated since the hearing was held.

Several speakers at the Round Table addressed the criticisms with presentations of data that appeared to contradict many widely held beliefs of critics of the racing industry. Matt Iuliano, the vice president of registration services for the Jockey Club, challenged claims that the racing industry is increasingly breeding more fragile horses by presenting the results of a pedigree research study conducted by the Jockey Club over the past several months. The data appeared to show that no one sire line is responsible for the production of horses with a higher degree of unsoundness, Iuliano said.

In addition, Dr. Larry Bramlage, the co-owner of Rood and Riddle Equine Clinic and a member of the safety committee, presented data challenging the oft-repeated claim that 2-year-old racing contributes to racing unsoundness or catastrophic injuries. The data indicated that horses who race more often as juveniles average more starts over their careers than horses that do not race until their 3-year-old years.

In other presentations, Alan Foreman, the chief executive of the Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association - a regional group that represents state-level trainer's organizations - said that the racing industry needs to move aggressively to address shortfalls in funding and expertise among the nation's drug-testing laboratories in order to prepare for the emergence of next-generation performance-enhancing drugs. His presentation led into the recommendations issued by the safety committee to study the sport's drug-testing practices in an effort to design a better national drug-testing system.

Thoroughbredtimes.com, August 17, 2008

Safety, Medication Dominant Theme of Round Table Conference

By Tom Law

The Jockey Club’s Thoroughbred Safety Committee, formed five days after Eight Belles broke down shortly after finishing second in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1), issued its latest four recommendations to the Thoroughbred industry during the 56th annual Round Table Conference on Matters Pertaining to Racing on Sunday at the Gideon Putnam Resort in Saratoga Springs, New York.

Speaking to those assembled at the two-hour meeting dominated by issues related to medication regulations, drug testing, and equine safety, Safety Committee Chairman Stuart S. Janney III said that while a great deal of progress has been made in the short history of the committee, “there is still more work ahead of us.”

“The committee has been guided in its work by our desire to do what is right for the safety and well-being of the horse and rider, and by the need to change the public’s perception of our industry,” Janney said. “If the Eight Belles tragedy makes us all more cooperative, less inward-looking, more proactive, and more sensitive to how our sport is perceived by others, then Eight Belles may be viewed in years to come as one of the most important horses ever to step on a racetrack.”

The four new recommendations from the Safety Committee pertain to drug testing and laboratory standards, uniform penalties for drug rules and prohibited practices violations, bicarbonate or TCO2 testing, and a national system to report injuries during training and racing.

The new recommendations follow others in June that called for the elimination of steroids in race training and racing, a ban on toe grabs, and a series of whip-related reforms.

In addition to outlining the new recommendations, the Safety Committee updated the group on its progress through a series of presentations with industry officials and experts, including detailed remarks on the elimination of toe grabs by WinStar Farm co-owner Bill Casner; on medication issues by Rick Arthur, D.V.M., equine medical director of the California Horse Racing Board; and on the subject of soundness by committee member and noted equine surgeon Larry Bramlage, D.V.M.

The most pointed remarks of the proceedings came from Alan Foreman, chairman and chief executive officer of the Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association. Foreman called for additional reforms in drug testing, laboratory standards, consolidation of the drug testing lab system, and development of a new generation of scientists, toxicologists, and pharmacologists.

“I am here because I want to make a difference and encourage change,” Foreman said. “I thank the Jockey Club Safety Committee for giving me the opportunity over the past few weeks to express my views on this subject. I am encouraged by their strong interest. I am also encouraged by the positive response from horsemen across the country with whom I have shared these recommendations.

“Everyone in this room is the steward of a national treasure, a great sport, a great tradition. What began as a sport more than a century ago is now a diverse and dynamic industry that is a part of the history, economy, and social fabric of this country. We have an obligation to preserve and protect this institution for our next generation. If we don’t address this drug testing issue now and let it become a catalyst for what can be a change in the perception of our sport, then we may not have anything left to argue about.”

Lexington Herald-Leader, August 18, 2008

Jockey Club Calls for Upgraded Lab System for Horse Testing

By Janet Patton

To further clean up Thoroughbred racing's act and image, a key panel has recommended that states and racetracks move toward a top-level system of labs for equine drug testing.

The Thoroughbred Safety Committee also urged the industry to adopt uniform rules on license suspensions, collection of injury data, and checking for a kind of cheating called “milkshaking.”

The four new recommendations from the committee came at The Jockey Club's annual roundtable discussion in New York on Sunday.

“Medication issues continue to haunt this industry and they are and will continue to be a priority for this committee, as evidenced by several of today's recommendations,” panel chairman Stuart S. Janney III said in a statement. “We once again vigorously encourage the respective industry organizations to act on these recommendations in a timely manner.”

The safety committee will continue to meet, and more recommendations are likely. They plan to continue to look at such topics as racing surfaces; medication, particularly the anti-bleeder drug known commonly as Lasix; breeding trends; field size, particularly in the 20-horse Kentucky Derby; and treatment of retired racehorses.

Nick Nicholson, president of Keeneland, said from Saratoga on Sunday that Keeneland management will support better labs.

“We've got to do that. It's the appropriate scientific step and it's the direction we need to go in,” Nicholson said.

Kevin Flanery, Churchill Downs spokesman, said Sunday that testing and integrity remain important issues for racing and Churchill is concerned with “how to best conduct drug testing and the proper forum for this.”

The committee called for creating a task force to “develop a business plan for the most efficient and cost-effective infrastructure for equine drug testing and research,” according to the release.

The Jockey Club board voted Saturday to underwrite the cost of developing the business plan, which could lead to centralized, consistent testing of urine and blood taken from horses to test for illegal drugs or medication overages.

Because racing is regulated by states, each state contracts with individual labs, using different standards of testing, often dependant upon what states can pay. About $30 million is spent annually on equine drug testing, but the costs vary widely from state to state.

The safety committee called for developing strict equine drug testing lab standards; creating a template “request for proposal” for states to use; and developing a facility to store frozen samples for future analysis.

Eventually, this could lead to pooling resources in regional labs that would all test to the same levels.

The safety committee, formed May 8 after the death in the Kentucky Derby of second-place finisher Eight Belles and the public outcry over Derby winner Big Brown's legal use of steroids, has previously recommended banning anabolic steroids and toe grabs, which Eight Belles was wearing, and reforming the use of whips.

Those recommendations are bearing fruit, as major industry players such as the Breeders' Cup and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association say they will require tracks to play by those rules for future races. Kentucky has passed a 2-millimeter limit on toe grabs and is scheduled to take up a recommended steroid ban later this month.

“If the Eight Belles tragedy makes us all more cooperative, less inward-looking, more proactive and more sensitive to how our sport is perceived by others, then Eight Belles may be viewed in years to come as one of the most important horses ever to step on a racetrack,” Janney said in prepared remarks.

The safety committee on Sunday also called for tightening the testing for “milkshaking,” in which horses are force-fed bicarbonate and other alkalinization agents to help them offset the lactic acid that builds up in muscles during a race.

Milkshaking is illegal in Kentucky, as in most states, but the safety committee found that testing was not uniform, if it was done at all.

“The Thoroughbred Safety Committee strongly encourages all state racing commissions to publish the TCO2 (total carbon dioxide) levels of each horse tested to ensure the public that testing is being conducted and participants are below the regulatory thresholds,” committee members said in the release.

Just as testing is not necessarily the same from state to state, enforcement of penalties varies as well.

The safety committee recommended that the industry come up with and incorporate rules “to keep suspended trainers from participating in the training of racehorses and/or benefiting financially or otherwise from said training,” according to the release. The proposed rule would attempt to stop the practice of allowing a suspended trainer's horses to run in the name of an assistant, friend or family member.

The Jockey Club already had announced that it has begun an injury database, and during the 2007-08 pilot year, 48 racetracks participated to some degree. Now, that participation needs to become widespread and mandatory to be of real use.

The safety committee recommended that reporting to the system be made a condition of licensing for racetracks, for training facilities, and for participants such as trainers, jockeys, exercise riders, farriers, grooms, vets and others.

The committee also recommended that racing authorities require and pay for pre-race and post-race exams, as well as post-mortems for all horses that die on the grounds of licensed tracks or training centers.

See the recommendations at www.jockeyclub.com/tsc.asp

Louisville Courier-Journal, August 18, 2008

Jockey Club Panel Urges Standardized Drug Testing; Questions Size of Kentucky Derby Field

By Gregory A. Hall

The committee also intends to look into the potential dangers of the 20-horse Kentucky Derby field, which is the largest of any American race.

Referring to fears of a multihorse spill in the Derby, Safety Committee Chairman Stuart Janney said, "If something does happen, the sport itself is at risk." Janney made the comment in an interview after addressing the club's annual Jockey Club Round Table Conference on Matters Pertaining to Racing yesterday at Saratoga.

The Jockey Club – the official registrar of thoroughbred pedigrees and a major player in the industry -- formed the safety committee five days after the fatal May 3 injury to Eight Belles in the Kentucky Derby. Her front legs shattered after she crossed the finish line in second place.

The club gave the committee authority to make recommendations for the industry. It is now up to individual state racing commissions and industry groups to act on the recommendations.

Among yesterday's recommendations were:

The creation of a task force to establish uniform testing standards for laboratories that analyze blood and urine samples from horses to detect illegal medications. Only four of 18 labs used for drug testing in the United States now meet an international standard endorsed by the industry.

The task force would also identify the most cost-effective nationwide system for drug testing. The $30 million now spent on equine drug testing varies from state to state and is subject to budgetary constraints in most of those states.

Uniform penalties for trainers, owners and veterinarians who violate medication rules. The committee wants state racing commissions to adopt guidelines advocated by the industry's Racing Medication and Testing Consortium and its classification of individual drugs. At present, penalties for specific violations can vary from state to state. Kentucky and Indiana have adopted the bulk of those guidelines.

Mandatory racetrack participation in an industry-wide database to track racing fatalities. The database was created last year as a pilot project, and the first national results could be released next year, said Mary Scollay, the equine medical director for the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission. Scollay helped develop the database. All of Kentucky's thoroughbred tracks participate, and Joe Gorajec, executive director of the Indiana Horse Racing Commission, said he expects the state's two tracks would be willing to participate.

A prohibition on so-called chemical "milkshakes" -- an alkalizing mixture typically made of baking soda, sugar and electrolytes -- that help delay muscle fatigue in horses. Kentucky rules prohibit administering milkshakes to a horse less than 24 hours before it is scheduled to race.

The committee's last recommendation called for racing regulators and other industry groups to mandate that tracks take part in the injury reporting database that began last year as a pilot project.

The first national results from that database of racing injuries could be released next year, said Mary Scollay, the equine medical director for the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, who helped develop the database. Industry officials hope the database can provide previously lacking statistical information about the breakdowns that occur in U.S. racing, potentially helping limit them.

Field size debated

The 20-horse maximum allowed for the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs has been debated for years. Most races in North America are typically limited to about 14 horses, the maximum usually allowed for the Breeders' Cup World Championship races. While some European races have larger fields, they are usually conducted on tracks with more gradual turns.

"I think there are issues that have to be examined as to whether that field size and that number of horses, particularly in the early parts of the race, could result in a catastrophic injury," Janney said in the interview.

He said that the issue has been discussed with Churchill. Churchill Downs Inc. spokesman Kevin Flanery said yesterday that the company is reviewing safety issues at all four of its tracks, and "we welcome the opinions of other industry groups."

Retired Hall of Fame jockey Jerry Bailey, who won the 1993 Derby aboard Sea Hero and in 1996 on Grindstone, said the Derby is the hardest race to win for many reasons -- one of which is field size.

"Thank God there hasn't been any catastrophic spills during the course of that race," Bailey said, "but I would much rather ride in a 14-horse field than a 20-horse field, and I've ridden in 30-horse fields in Europe."

Possible rule changes

Janney said the committee also would look at bringing the United States into line with most other countries on medication policies. Among the issues are American rules allowing race-day use of drugs that prevent bleeding in a horse's lungs during a race. Some trainers and vets believe the drugs prevent or limit bleeding, others question their effectiveness and say they enhance performance.

Jockey Club Vice President Matt Iuliano released initial results of pedigree research based on racing in 2007. It found that no sire's bloodlines were disproportionately represented in horses that suffered career-ending injuries. Jockey Club officials said the committee will continue to look at the issue.

Thoroughbred Daily News, August 18, 2008

Safety First At JC Round Table

By Maryjean Wall

Calling for quick action from the ground up as well as at the top, The Jockey Club’s Thoroughbred Safety Committee is urging all racetracks to enact immediate change in horse welfare through the use of interim house rules to speed reform while awaiting any future state actions.

This recommendation was among proposals yesterday at the 56th annual Round Table Conference sponsored by The Jockey Club, where the use of anabolic steroids, alkalinizing substances (milkshakes) and toe grabs on horse shoes were singled out as problems that the industry is attempting to solve quickly.

The committee also urged publication of TCO2 (alkalinizing, milkshake) levels of all horses tested in each state because the public has a right to know.

“Medication issues continue to haunt this industry and they are and will continue to be a priority for this committee, “ said Stuart S. Janney III, chairman of the Thoroughbred Safety Committee. “We have too much medication compared to the rest of the world,” he also said.

The Thoroughbred Safety Committee also recommended changes in drug testing and laboratory standards, uniform penalties for prohibited drug and practices violations, more strenuous milkshake testing, and a national system to report injuries during racing and training. Some 55 racetracks have signed on with the committee’s Equine Injury Database and the committee yesterday urged all tracks to participate.

Clearly, the great amount of negative publicity the industry has received since the death of Eight Belles in the Kentucky Derby was one major theme driving this year’s Round Table. The Safety Committee is to examine the size of the Kentucky Derby field, which generally attracts 20 horses, to determine if it is, in fact, a safety issue.

The industry can cite some successful strategies that were in place even before the hailstorm of news articles resulting from this year’s Triple Crown, according to James Hickey Jr., president of The American Horse Council.

Nonetheless, Hickey stressed in his presentation that the climate of public tolerance for racing injuries has changed markedly since the last time, some 27 years ago, when the fear of federal intervention swept through the industry.

“The public is very interested now and not sympathetic,” James Hickey Jr. said. “Overwhelmingly the articles are critical. The focus on steroid problems in other sports has spilled over into racing.”

Alan Foreman, chairman and CEO of the Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Associations, Inc., promised aid with funding post-graduate doctoral students whose career interests will focus on drug-testing of racehorses. Foreman predicted that the industry is going to find it difficult to replace the core scientists who have devoted lifelong careers to this niche.

He also warned that sophisticated testing will be needed to combat the next generation of illegal drugs: gene doping. Foreman said that one solution to prevailing budget problems at state-controlled testing laboratories would be for the racing industry to establish its own laboratory.

Bill Casner, president and co-owner of WinStar Farm, showed visuals that highlighted how the wearing of toe grabs alters the leg and ankle position of a running horse. He cited research by Dr. Sue Stover at UCLA-Davis that has connected the wearing of toe grabs to on-track injuries.

“We have a lot of work ahead of us,” Janney concluded, adding, “If the death of Eight Belles makes us all more cooperative and less inward-looking, Eight Belles may be viewed as one of the most important racehorses ever to step on a track.”

Daily Racing Form, August 22, 2008

Data Debunking Myths Gets Buried

By Steven Crist

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Most reports on last Sunday's Jockey Club Round Table here centered on the sensible recommendations of its Safety and Welfare Committee concerning medication and drug testing, and properly so. The only downside to that focus is that it obscured an important presentation by Dr. Larry Bramlage, a committee member and the president of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons.

Bramlage addressed some of the most frequent and damning charges leveled at the racing industry in the aftermath of the Eight Belles breakdown May 1.

"Statements have been made in the popular press, read, re-quoted, and in some instances misquoted to the point that they began to be regarded as fact," said Bramlage. "We believe that the charges must be addressed based upon data, not opinion. Therefore, for the information that we examined, our conclusions are rooted in the pragmatic 'the data shows' rather than the dubious 'we believe.' "

The first popular notion that Bramlage and the committee tested was the idea that racing horses as 2-year-olds is inhumane and leads to shorter careers and more injuries. This position is endorsed by the Humane Society of the United States and led sportswriters from prominent newspapers to call for a ban on 2-year-old racing and for changing the Triple Crown into a series for 4-year-olds.

Oops.

"The data is definitive," Bramlage said. "It shows that horses that began racing as 2-year-olds are much more successful, have much longer careers, and, by extrapolation, show less predisposition to injury than horses that did not begin racing until their 3-year-old year. It is absolute on all the data sets that the training and racing of 2-year-old Thoroughbreds has no ill effect on the horses' race-career longevity or quality. In fact, the data would indicate that the ability to make at least one start as a 2-year-old has a very strong positive effect on the longevity and success of a racehorse. This strong positive effect on the quality and quantity of performance would make it impossible to argue that these horses that race as 2-year-olds are compromised."

Next up was the idea that commercial breeders have ruined the Thoroughbred, either by overbreeding through the Native Dancer sire line or by employing nefarious methods to prepare horses for public auction. The Jockey Club's data showed absolutely no correlation between either any of the dominant sire lines, or sales yearlings as a group, and foreshortened careers. "Data from foal crops 1989 through 2001 were examined," Bramlage said. "The data shows that the probability of racing has, in fact, risen from 65.8 percent for the foal crop of 1989 to 72.5 percent for the foal crop of 2001. So, the surgical management of yearlings and preparation techniques for the sale are actually helping rather than hurting the chances for a horse to race."

It would have been nice had racing been armed with this kind of research at the time these charges were being made, so it could have refuted them in a timely manner. Instead, irresponsible advocates and journalists declared open season on racing, and too many industry representatives tried to curry public favor by agreeing with instead of challenging these flawed assertions.

Now that there is data to debunk them, it would also be nice if those who claimed Eight Belles's accident was "predictable" and "waiting to happen" would apologize, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

Hooray for also-eligibles

Breeders' Cup Ltd. has made one bizarre and unpopular decision after another this year, from staging its races on an untested surface, to holding them in California two years running, to renaming the Distaff the "Ladies' Classic" for its 25th running. The organization got something very right, however, by announcing Friday that this year's races will include "also-eligible" lists for the first time.

Any race that draws more than 14 will have up to two of the overflow entrants designated as also-eligibles, who can draw into the race if there are defections between entry time Wednesday and the start of advance betting Friday morning. This will ensure fuller fields and give a few horses an opportunity to run who otherwise would have been excluded despite available stalls in the starting gate.

It's such a good and easy change that perhaps now Churchill Downs, which has been inexplicably opposed to doing the same thing for the Kentucky Derby, will follow suit.

Thoroughbred Times, August 30, 2008

Thoro-Graph Founder Keeps Close Eye On Drug Issues

By Jeff Lowe

Thoro-Graph founder Jerry Brown has seen enough suspicious speed figures in recent years that he has stepped up to take action over drug abuse in North American racing.

Brown consulted the Jockey Club Thorough bred Safety Committee as the panel developed recommendations related to drug testing and enforcement, and he will consider boycotting racetracks that do not adopt reforms in the near future.

Brown is paying particular attention to the committee’s recommendations issued on August 17 that relate to TCO2 (bicarbonate) testing and the development of standards for freezing blood samples for future analysis.

“Players are really upset,” said Brown, whose New York-based company sold speed figures for 28 racetracks for the weekend of August 23. “The fact there is no organization to represent them has kept the industry from really understanding how upset they are and how it’s affected handle."

Brown said he was encouraged that the committee’s recommendation on TCO2 testing included a provision in which state racing commissions would publish levels for every horse tested. Brown said he pushed for that measure.

“The bettors have a right to that information,” Brown said. “It lets us know they are actually doing the testing. There is reason to believe that some tracks that say they’ve been testing have not been testing. Secondly, because when a horse goes from a trainer that is averaging 30 [millimoles of TCO2 per liter] to a trainer that is averaging 34, that’s important information to the public.”

Brown said the freezing of blood samples would also be a major change. The committee recommended the development of a facility to store frozen samples.

“It seems that may take quite a bit of time, and that is an urgent matter,” Brown said. “If that ends up being a two-year process before the first blood is frozen, you’re allowing two years for people to be taking money out of the hands of bettors because people are betting with inside information based on which horses have been drugged. What’s ultimately going to stop them is that the blood is being frozen and there are serious consequences for a positive.

“The [wagering] pools are a market, and people are playing with inside information. If that was going on in the stock market, the people in [the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association] and everyone else who invests in that market would be going crazy.”

Jim Quinn, the former player representative for the National Thoroughbred Racing Association and a noted author on handicapping, agreed with Brown’s assessment that horseplayers have been increasingly gun-shy over drug concerns in the United States.

“It’s a major issue, and it’s something that has kept racing from being able to attract new fans," Quinn said. “If you’re a new fan and you see something that suggests drugs are prevalent, why would you keep coming back?”

Bloodhorse, November 11, 2008

Checkoff Program to Benefit TCA, TRF

Edited Press Release

When Thoroughbred owners and breeders in North America submit their foal registration applications on or after Jan. 1, 2009, they will be able to participate in a voluntary checkoff program, created and administered by The Jockey Club, which will assist two organizations that provide post-racing care for Thoroughbreds.

The joint announcement was made today by Thoroughbred Charities of America, the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation, and The Jockey Club.

As an incentive to encourage participation, The Jockey Club will match the checkoff on a dollar-to-dollar basis up to $200,000 in 2009. Checkoff proceeds and matching funds will be distributed to Thoroughbred Charities of America and Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation.

The matching funds will come from The Jockey Club’s four commercial subsidiaries: The Jockey Club Information Systems Inc.; The Jockey Club Technology Services Inc.; InCompass Solutions Inc.; and The Jockey Club Racing Services Inc.

TCA raises funds and distributes grants to a variety of non-profit organizations designed to improve conditions for horses and people in the Thoroughbred industry. Funds from The Jockey Club checkoff program will be directed specifically to TCA’s Thoroughbred re-training and adoption initiatives.

Founded in 1983, the TRF is dedicated to providing humane retirement options for Thoroughbreds at the end of their racing careers and it operates vocational training in equine care for inmates at nine correctional facilities around the country. Funds from The Jockey Club checkoff program will be designated specifically for the TRF’s vocational training at correctional facilities.

Thoroughbred breeders will have the option of selecting one of four graduated amounts ($25, $50, $75, or $100) to be designated for these Thoroughbred aftercare programs or they can fill in the amount of their choice on the Application for Foal Registration form. These contributions will not qualify as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes.

“We applaud the efforts of these two organizations through the years to retire, retrain and find suitable homes for Thoroughbred racehorses,” said Alan Marzelli, president of The Jockey Club. “We are confident that the creation of this checkoff program will further those efforts and encourage others to take similar steps to ensure the well-being of our Thoroughbred athletes when their racing careers are over.”

“The checkoff program will provide a tremendous boost to the TCA’s racehorse retraining and adoption efforts and we hope that all owners and breeders will participate in it,” said Herb Moelis, president of the TCA. “We are grateful to The Jockey Club for its support and we hope other industry stakeholders do their part.”

“Today, a new door has been opened and this public recognition of our mission provides us with a vote of confidence as we work toward industrywide funding,” said Diana Pikulski, executive director of the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation. “We are extremely thankful for The Jockey Club’s endorsement.”

TCA is a 501(c)(3) fund-raising organization which distributes annual grants to non-profits within their mission. The five sectors which TCA grants funds to are: Thoroughbred rescue, rehabilitation, retraining, adoption, retirement and euthanasia; backstretch workers; equine educational organizations; therapeutic riding programs; and research into equine diseases and ailments.

The TRF is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to retiring Thoroughbred racehorses after they are finished racing. In addition to its programs at correctional facilities, TRF operates retraining and adoption facilities and satellite farms across the country and currently maintains approximately 1,800 horses.

Thoroughbred Daily News, November 12, 2008

The Jockey Club, TRF and TCA Launch Checkoff Program

The Jockey Club, Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation and Thoroughbred Charities of America have teamed up to form a voluntary checkoff program, which will assist in providing post-racing care for Thoroughbreds when owners and breeders in North America submit their foal registration applications beginning Jan. 1. The Jockey Club will match the checkoff on a dollar-to-dollar basis up to $200,000 in 2009, which will be distributed to the TRF and TCA.

“We applaud the efforts of these two organizations through the years to retire, retrain and find suitable homes for Thoroughbred racehorses,” said Alan Marzelli, president of The Jockey Club. “We are confident that the creation of this checkoff program will further those efforts and encourage others to take similar steps to ensure the well being of our Thoroughbred athletes when their racing careers are over.”

Owners and breeders will have the option of selecting one of four graduated amounts ($25, $50, $75 or $100) or they can fill in the amount of their choice on the Foal Registration form. The TRF, founded in 1983, will use the funds from The Jockey Club checkoff program for its vocational training at correctional facilities.

“Today, a new door has been opened and this public recognition of our mission provides us with a vote of confidence as we work toward industry-wide funding,” said Diana Pikulski, executive director of the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation. “We are extremely thankful for The Jockey Club’s endorsement.”

The TCA’s Thoroughbred re-training and adoption initiatives will receive the funds from the checkoff program. “The checkoff program will provide a tremendous boost to the TCA’s racehorse retraining and adoption efforts and we hope that all owners and breeders will participate in it,” said Herb Moelis, president of the TCA. “We are grateful to The Jockey Club for its support and we hope other industry stakeholders do their part.”

Bloodhorse, February 11, 2009

Frozen Sample Drug Tests Get Funding

By Blood-Horse Staff

The Jockey Club Thoroughbred Safety Committee said Feb. 11 it will fund a Racing Medication and Testing Consortium frozen-sample and retrospective testing program that will begin in April.

The program is part of the drug-testing initiative that evolved from a safety committee recommendation announced at The Jockey Club Round Table Conference in August 2008.

The safety committee’s recommendation included the maintenance of a facility to store frozen samples for future analysis. The Jockey Club board of stewards has approved $150,000 in funding to the RMTC for the facility and other drug-testing initiatives in 2009.

“We have devoted significant resources, financial and otherwise, to medication issues through the years and we will continue to do so,” Jockey Club chairman Ogden Mills “Dinny” Phipps said in a statement. “There is nothing more important or more critical for this entire industry, and a frozen-sample retrospective testing program is a key component of any drug-testing initiative.”

The RMTC will coordinate the frozen storage of plasma and urine post-race, pre-race, and out-of-competition samples. In addition, funding will be provided for the retrospective super testing of plasma and urine samples.

“The purpose of this program is to act as a deterrent to the use of illegal drugs or prohibited medications in racehorses competing in the United States,” Thoroughbred Safety Committee chairman Stuart Janney III said. “The testing of these samples may result in positive test results, which can then be used as probable cause for the future collection of test samples from racehorses with the same owner, trainer, or attending veterinarian.”

Janney also said an accumulation of positive test results by the same owner, trainer, or attending veterinarian could be considered “aggravating circumstances” in the determinations of fines and suspensions in accordance with existing RMTC penalty recommendations, which were adopted as Association of Racing Commissioners International model rules in 2006.

Dr. Rick Arthur, a member of the RMTC executive committee, said the RMTC Scientific Advisory Committee, in cooperation with state racing commissions, will select up to five participating laboratories for the frozen-sample program, including Dr. Don Catlin’s Anti-Doping Research Laboratory in Los Angeles.

Catlin founded the first anti-doping lab in the United States, the UCLA Olympic Analytical Laboratory, and served as its director for 25 years. He has overseen drug testing at every level of sport, including Olympic, professional, and collegiate. Catlin has been involved with Thoroughbred racing since the formation of the Equine Drug Research Institute in 2005.

The safety committee was formed in May 2008 to review every facet of equine health, including breeding practices, medication, the rules of racing, and track surfaces, and to recommend actions to be taken by the industry to improve the health and safety of Thoroughbreds.

Bloodhorse, April 15, 2009

Jockey Club to Offer Free Tattoo Service

Edited Press Release

The Jockey Club announced today that it has established Tattoo Identification Services, a free resource to help owners identify tattooed but unknown Thoroughbreds in their possession.

For legible tattoos, an owner can use a free tattoo lookup feature available from The Jockey Club’s website, www.jockeyclub.com, and the Registry homepage, www.registry.jockeyclub.com.

For illegible tattoos or partial tattoos, customer service representatives from the registry will provide free research of a Thoroughbred’s identity using the information contained in The Jockey Club’s database, including color, markings, and photographs.

Information on procuring identification from illegible or partial tattoos as well as tips for reading lip tattoos and a list of frequently asked questions is available at www.registry.jockeyclub.com.

“We hope that Tattoo Identification Services will be a valuable tool for individuals and organizations seeking to retire, re-train, and find suitable homes for Thoroughbred racehorses when their racing careers are over,” said Matt Iuliano, vice president of registration services for The Jockey Club. “We view this as an adjunct to our recently implemented checkoff program, and as a service to both the horses and the people who care for them.”

On January 1, The Jockey Club instituted a voluntary checkoff program enabling owners and breeders in North America to assist the retirement, re-training, and adoption efforts of the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation and Thoroughbred Charities of America when they submit their foal registration applications.

As an incentive to encourage participation, The Jockey Club will match the checkoff on a dollar-to-dollar basis up to $200,000 in 2009. Checkoff proceeds and matching funds are being distributed to those two organizations on a quarterly basis, with more than $100,000 distributed thus far.

Bloodhorse, April 17, 2009

Track Testing Lab to be Launched

A Racing Surfaces Testing Laboratory designed to enhance surface safety for horses and riders is being launched with the financial support of a broad industry coalition, it was announced April 17 by the laboratory’s coordinators Dr. Mick Peterson and Dr. Wayne McIlwraith.

Based in Orono, Maine, the laboratory is expected to begin operation within the next 30 days pending the filing of all incorporation documents.

The laboratory will provide science-based testing focused on the unique demands of horse racing. Such testing has long been sought after by track superintendents and will be provided for dirt and synthetic racetrack surfaces in collaboration with industry stakeholders.

The facility, which will be constituted as a 501(c)(3) organization, traces its roots to recommendations made at the Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summits, which were organized and underwritten by The Jockey Club and Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation in October 2006 and March 2008.

Peterson, a professor in mechanical engineering at the University of Maine, and McIlwraith, a professor of surgery and the director of the Orthopaedic Research Center within the College of veterinary medicine and biomedical sciences at Colorado State University, are both members of the summit’s Racing Surfaces Committee.

Start-up funding in 2009 and 2010 is being provided by Churchill Downs Inc., the National Thoroughbred Racing Association Charities, the New York Racing Association, the Oak Tree Racing Association, and The Jockey Club.

Each of those organizations will have one representative on the laboratory’s board of directors, which met in an organizational meeting April 13. Additional financial commitments have been received from Finger Lakes Racing Association, Keeneland Association, and Turfway Park. The laboratory is encouraging other industry organizations to participate in the funding of the laboratory and track surface testing equipment.

“The development of this laboratory will provide a location where reliable tests of surfaces can be obtained and new tests that better represent the needs of the industry can be developed,” said Peterson. “This initiative will also provide a unique tool for studying the performance of new and existing surfaces in a controlled environment. It is exciting to see the willingness of the industry to approach these challenges in a systematic fashion."

The Racing Surfaces Testing Laboratory will focus on composition analysis and performance testing of dirt and synthetic surfaces materials. These measurements will help to increase consistency and reduce the possibility of injury to horses and riders. Personnel from the lab will also:

Collaborate with racetracks to develop processes to ensure consistent track maintenance
Perform racetrack testing that enables tracks to monitor changes in track materials and received materials to ensure consistency of the track surface
Conduct benchmark studies of alternative track surface materials to help track manufacturers and materials suppliers develop safer racing surfaces
Develop standards for track surfaces and subsequently promote those standards to regulatory bodies
Develop collaborative relationships that increase the likelihood of adoption by racetracks of best practices for track management

On-site performance testing of racing surfaces will be conducted in collaboration with horsemen, racetracks, and regulatory agencies.

According to NTRA President Alex Waldrop, “Members of the NTRA Safety and Integrity Alliance that participate in the laboratory’s racing surface testing will satisfy their track’s requirement to fund and/or participate in independent research to promote a safer racing environment as part of the alliance racetrack accreditation process that is currently underway.”

Testing methods stem from a research project being conducted by Peterson and McIlwraith and funded in part through the ElastikonTM Equine Research Award from Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation. A ground-penetrating radar and a biomechanical hoof tester developed by Peterson, which simulates a hoof’s interaction with a track’s surface, are used to establish baseline data about the surface. The baseline data is then supplemented with regular measurement of track surface materials, continuous monitoring of weather conditions, and documentation of all maintenance performed on the surface.

“All of this data then becomes the basis for maintaining a consistent and safe surface, ensuring that we understand what type of maintenance protocols are most effective, and maintaining continuity should track personnel changes occur,” said Peterson.

“This is the culmination of an eight-year program that Mick and I have been working on to try and achieve racetrack consistency and provide objective parameters for optimal safety,” said McIlwraith. “The testing lab will be working along with the biomechanical hoof tester and ground-penetrating radar data to validate a racetrack as best as we can. As an equine surgeon and orthopedic researcher I am excited with this initiative as it is a critical part of racehorse welfare.”

Daily Racing Form, April 17, 2009

Free Tattoo Research Offered

In a move welcomed by Thoroughbred retirement groups and owners of former racehorses, the Jockey Club announced Wednesday that it will provide free tattoo research services for people seeking to identify tattooed Thoroughbreds in their care. The free resource, called Tattoo Identification Services, will provide everything from basic tattoo look-up for legible tattoos to identity research for illegible or partial tattoos, according to the Jockey Club.

For legible tattoos, owners can pull up identity reports online at www.jockeyclub.com and the registry home page at www.registry.jockeyclub.com. For illegible or partial tattoos, the Jockey Club suggests that owners begin by consulting www.registry.jockeyclub.com for information on how to get identification, including tips for reading lip tattoos and a list if frequently asked questions, at www.registry.jockeyclub.com A Jockey Club customer service representative will provide identification research using the color markings, and registration photographs available in the registry's database.

Tattoo research services previously were available at a cost of $35 for basic identity information and $50 for research, including a detailed race record and auction history.

"We hope that Tattoo Identification Services will be a valuable tool for individuals and organizations seeking to retire, retrain, and find suitable homes for Thoroughbred racehorses when their racing careers are over," said Matt Iuliano, the Jockey Club's vice-president of registration services."

This announcement follows the Jockey Club's January announcement that it would offer a checkoff option through which owners and breeders registering foals can donate to the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation and Thoroughbred Charities of America. The Jockey Club has pledged to match those funds up to $200,000. So far, that initiative has distributed more than $100,000, according to the Jockey Club.

Daily Racing Form, April 19, 2009

Financing in Place for Surface Study

By Matt Hegarty

A coalition of racetracks and racing organizations have pledged to provide the funding for a Maine-based laboratory that will conduct research into racetrack surfaces and their maintenance, the coalition announced on Friday.

The laboratory will be headed by Dr. Mick Peterson, a professor in mechanical engineering at the University of Maine, and Dr. Wayne McIlwraith, a professor of surgery and the director of the Orthopaedic Research Center at the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at Colorado State University. Peterson and McIlwraith are both involved in ongoing studies of track surfaces that are being conducted to correlate racing-surface data with injury data.

Peterson, who has developed a biomechanical hoof and uses ground-penetrating radar to measure the consistency of racetrack bases, said on Friday that the laboratory is already conducting research for six racetracks. The money being raised for the laboratory's start-up will go largely toward purchasing equipment to conduct the studies and collect data, Peterson said.

The surface-testing laboratory is the first of its kind in racing, though several racetracks already contract with other laboratories to test soil, grass, and synthetic samples. Once fully operational, the laboratory will conduct tests on surfaces at the request of racetracks, which will be required to pay for the services, Peterson said.

"This is primarily a service for track superintendents," Peterson said. "But we also plan to make all of our results available to the industry. No result is going to be treated as proprietary."

Peterson and other officials involved in ongoing efforts to improve the safety of racetracks have been pushing for the creation of the laboratory in order to develop a database on surface conditions and the factors that influence them. The data is expected to be compared to injury data to determine if any factors correlate to smaller or larger rates of injuries. Almost every racetrack in the U.S. is already participating in a project that is gathering data on injuries.

The groups that have agreed to provide start-up funds for the laboratory are Churchill Downs Inc., the National Thoroughbred Racing Association Charities, the New York Racing Association, the Oak Tree Racing Association, and the Jockey Club. According to Peterson, all five organization have pledged at least $25,000 each for the lab's first year of operation, and "similar amounts" for 2010.

Also, Finger Lakes Racing Association, Keeneland Association, and Turfway Park have agreed to provide "additional financial commitments," according to a release from the groups.

NY Daily News, April 27, 2009

Racing's on right track with safety as Kentucky Derby approaching

By Jerry Bossert

A year ago, the winner of the Kentucky Derby became famous for more than just finishing first in America's most famous race. Big Brown also made headlines when his trainer, Rick Dutrow Jr., told the Daily News he had given the colt the steroid Winstrol on the 15th of every month.

At the time, Winstrol was legal in Kentucky, but in the furor that ensued, the use of anabolic steroids was banned, and this year, no horse will compete on steroids in the Triple Crown series that begins on Saturday with the 135th running of the Kentucky Derby.

The steroid ban went into effect on Jan. 1 in almost every racing jurisdiction and had already been adopted by California for last year's Breeders' Cup at Santa Anita in October.

"I'm all into it," Dutrow said of the ban. "I don't notice it at all now. Steroids never meant nothing."

Other changes announced by the Jockey Club Thoroughbred Safety Committee, created days after the death of the filly Eight Belles in last year's Derby, included the ban on toe grabs or any other traction device worn on the front shoes while racing or training, so a horse's stride isn't impeded, and a requirement to use safer whips.

No drugs or steroids were found in Eight Belles' body after both front ankles broke simultaneously on the track after she finished second to Big Brown. She became the first fatality in America's most famous race.

"They are trying," said Larry Jones, Eight Belles' trainer. "The industry has put itself under the microscope. It is now more humane. It wasn't bad to be a horse in last year's Derby but it's better to be a horse in this year's Derby. We still have a ways to go and we're going to get there."

In October, the National Thoroughbred Racing Association created the Safety and Integrity Alliance, calling for reforms that include the adoption of uniform medication rules and penalties, the ban of steroids, out-of-competition testing for blood and gene doping agents, pre- and post-race veterinary examinations, mandatory on-track injury reporting, enhanced backstretch security and having each track support and maintain an association with qualified retraining and adoption programs for thoroughbreds no longer competing.

This month a Racing Surfaces Testing Laboratory was launched to promote safer and more consistent racing surfaces, with Churchill Downs becoming the first track to be accredited by the Safety and Integrity Alliance.

The accreditation process requires participation in track surface research studies, and the freezing and storage of equine blood and urine samples for future testing.

"I'm sure that they're trying to do everything they can," said Michael Matz, who trained the ill-fated Barbaro. "The main thing I wish we could accomplish is to have one rule for everything - medication, licensing. That's the biggest thing to have one national body to rule. A lot of people are trying but there are still a lot of people trying to make it go the other way."

Matz admits that accidents will continue to happen in the sport.

"Most trainers want the best for their horses no matter what, but these things can happen all the time. Horses are athletes that are trying to do the best they can. Accidents will happen. Just like a young kid who's a pitcher blows out his arm. The difference is that humans are much better patients."

"I never want to see a horse break down but even if they raced on pillows it would still happen," Dutrow said. "It's nobody's fault."

The three trainers all agree that racing is trying to move in the right direction, but more can be done and should be done.

A recent example of integrity failure is the arrest of breeder Ernie Paragallo, who faces 22 counts of negligence toward horses on his upstate farm.

"To have that many horses and not go and see your farm for nine months, that's pretty sad," Matz said, referring to Paragallo.

MSNBC.com, April 28, 2009

Robotic Hoof Aids in Track Conditioning

By Jeffrey McMurray

The day of racing has ended at Churchill Downs, and tractors have plowed away the evidence of thousands of hoof marks left behind on the dirt track.

This is when Mick Peterson goes to work creating a few more.

He calls his machine a robotic horse, but the metal contraption attached to the back of a van doesn't at all resemble the graceful animal it is designed to imitate. That is, until he turns it on.

As it slams the dirt, the angle, force and especially the sound of the device's "leg'' are unmistakable. It's just how a hoof hits the ground during the ferocious stretch run of a thoroughbred race.

Peterson, a professor in mechanical engineering at the University of Maine, has been affectionately called a mad scientist by track superintendents. But his hope is to use the simulated hoof prints and data his machine produces to detect trouble spots on racetracks, giving maintenance crews new information to avert potentially fatal accidents.

"You don't want to say, 'There's a rash of injuries, let's go fix something,''' Peterson said. "What you want to do is catch it before the horses get hurt.''

Catastrophic injuries at thoroughbred tracks in the United States are not uncommon, although the death of filly Eight Belles last year was the first in 134 runnings of the Kentucky Derby. While her accident has not been attributed to a problem with the track, Peterson is convinced injecting science into track maintenance can significantly curb fatality numbers.

While this is the first year Peterson has been using his device at Churchill, it has been employed for five years at racetracks in California, where it did catch a drainage problem.

The idea for the device came more than a decade ago when Peterson was on the faculty at Colorado State and was working with equine orthopedic surgeon Wayne McIlwraith on a graduate student's research project.

That project dealt with the correlation between horse exercise and injuries, but Peterson wondered whether the data could ever really be valid unless there were uniform standards for how racetracks and training surfaces should be maintained. As it turned out, there weren't.

Besides working on the device, Peterson and McIlwraith have teamed up this year to create a laboratory in Maine that will analyze samples from synthetic and dirt tracks to determine the risk of injuries to horses. Churchill and several other tracks have contributed to the startup funds for the lab.

"We're still on a learning curve, particularly for synthetics, but you adjust the track to accommodate,'' McIlwraith said. "Sometimes it may not be changing material. It may just be adding water.''

As for the robotic hoof in use at Churchill and elsewhere, it produces two sets of numbers measuring vertical and horizontal force.

The first reading measures the "load,'' or how well the surface can withstand the slamming of a leg onto the ground. The other measurement is the "slide,'' the horizontal force of the hoof once it is in contact with the ground.

The wrong load can potentially break a horse's leg while slide problems can create soft tissue injuries.

Finding a track with the perfect balance of load and slide is the goal, but Peterson says the device isn't designed to answer the long debate about whether dirt, grass or synthetic tracks are safest. Rather, he's using the machine on a test basis at 27 tracks, giving supervisors information to improve whatever surface they have.

"We're looking for a way we can scientifically judge what we're doing,'' said Butch Lehr, track supervisor at Churchill Downs. "We're really new to it, but we're also excited about what we're going to find.''

Boston Globe, April 29, 2009

For Horses’ Safety, He Thinks Outside the Hocks

By T.D. Thornton

In the wake of tragic, nationally televised horse injuries, thoroughbred racing has been notorious for responding with safety committees. Populated by industry insiders, these coalitions and panels issue guidelines and recommendations that are largely voluntary and almost entirely toothless, because the sport lacks a central authority to implement meaningful change.

Over the past several seasons - especially since undefeated champion Barbaro fractured his right hind leg in the 2006 Preakness Stakes and the filly Eight Belles shattered both front ankles after the 2008 Kentucky Derby - the industry has likewise ramped up its damage control and public awareness.

In the lead-up to Saturday's 135th Kentucky Derby, the National Thoroughbred Racing Association has been vigilant about issuing press releases rife with buzzwords like "integrity," "accreditation," and "standards of excellence." Churchill Downs Inc. recently unveiled an ambitious 22-point master safety plan that is similarly heavy on politically correct jargon.

It's one thing to talk a good game about preventing catastrophic injuries to racehorses, yet quite another to actually pull it off. But if you sift through the spin to find someone who is actually doing significant, long-term, hands-on work, you'll find Dr. Michael "Mick" Peterson Jr. peering intently at the point of impact, where the fragile, delicate feet of equine athletes strike the ground at 100 times the force of gravity.

A self-described "geek" who knew nothing about the sport a dozen years ago, Peterson invented a biomechanical hoof before expanding his studies to include ground-penetrating radar and particle analysis of racetrack surfaces. The University of Maine professor believes racing can take long-term control of its safety problems by embracing "a culture of data."

Peterson is refreshingly far removed from racing's insular culture. After all, this is a guy with a doctorate in theoretical and applied mechanics. Among other endeavors, Peterson once headed a team that investigated the Columbia space shuttle's disintegration. And when the racing industry earlier this month committed funds to build the first laboratory dedicated to racetrack science, his participation was deemed so crucial that it was announced that the facility would not be based in Kentucky, the country's horse capital, but 1,200 miles away in Peterson's rural hometown of Orono, Maine.

Paucity of data

Peterson, 47, laughs heartily when he pinpoints his entry into the world of horse racing to a "naive question" he asked more than a decade ago.

As a member of the mechanical engineering faculty at Colorado State University, he was helping a colleague with a bone-remodeling study. After it was explained to him how the tests would try to replicate the forces and stresses exerted on the hooves of horses as they hit a dirt racetrack, Peterson said, "OK, so what kind of standards do we have to meet?"

Peterson's query yielded blank stares. Despite centuries of competition, there was no scientific data on the uniformity of dirt horse tracks. Their basic composition - a subsurface base that provides stability and drainage, covered by a cushion of loam, sand, and clay - had never undergone any rigorous study, and the notion of what was considered "safe" was highly subjective and purely anecdotal.

"I remember him asking that," said Wayne McIlwraith, a horse surgeon and director of the Orthopaedic Research Center at Colorado State. "It was a collision of worlds, for sure."

It's long been a given in the thoroughbred industry that when a horse suffers a severe injury, the racing surface will be blamed. Peterson and McIlwraith knew this could logically be the case, but to what degree? Until they had quantitative data, they couldn't determine what role other dynamics, such as genetics, played in the frequency and severity of horse injuries.

Peterson and McIlwraith realized such research would be a difficult sell to a fragmented industry that wants quick solutions on a limited budget. But even after Peterson moved on to Maine in 1999, they continued to chip away at the project, obtaining occasional grants or consulting gigs that fed into what they would come to call the Catastrophic Injury Database.

The only thing Peterson ascertained immediately, from the very first time he set foot on the backstretch of a racetrack, was that he was hooked for good on the sport.

"I came in knowing hardly anything about horses," Peterson said. "I just got lucky. I loved it. Once I'd been at the racetrack for a while, I realized there was no going backward."

Beyond the surface

In the summer of 2003, Peterson had an engineering breakthrough. Although there were numerous "off-the-shelf measuring devices" that functioned as a drop hammer, none of them replicated the speed and load of a racehorse's hoof striking the ground: A hoof doesn't just drop, it also pushes off to launch the animal into its next stride.

This led Peterson to develop his robotic hoof, which in turn led to an important safety discovery. Too much emphasis, Peterson learned, had been placed on the hardness of the racing surface. What was being overlooked was the track's "shear strength," or how much resistance the hoof encounters when it pushes off.

Excessive hardness can cause bone fractures and instant, graphic injuries. But too much shear strength results in soft-tissue damage that takes its toll over time, silently causing wear and tear in the form of tendon and ligament strain.

Several years ago, Peterson was consulting for Fairplex Park in California. He field-tested the track with his biomechanical hoof, then followed up with ground-penetrating radar to get a sub-surface image where he thought there might be a problem. No one had complained and no injuries had occurred, but Peterson said when the track superintendent took his advice and dug up the track, "the base was essentially missing from that area." The track was repaired.

"That's really my vision for the industry," said Peterson. "I want to make incremental improvements before any horses get hurt."

Although prevention is a noble aspiration, both Peterson and McIlwraith acknowledge that it has taken a pair of very high-profile horse injuries - to Barbaro and Eight Belles - to get the industry to make serious commitments to improved horse health.

"As a generalization, the industry is reactionary," said McIlwraith. "There's a lot of tradition and there's a lot of dogma. But people are changing. They're realizing that they can't do things the way they've always been done. I think that clash between racetrack tradition and making decisions based on science is improving."

Personal perspective

It has taken nearly 10 years since their initial experiments at Colorado State, but now the funding is beginning to flow to allow Peterson and McIlwraith to conduct their research on a widespread, national level.

Last year the two shared the $43,000 Elastikon Equine Research Award for their racetrack safety initiatives. This past winter, Peterson was hired by Churchill Downs to establish protocols for performance testing. Two weeks ago, a coalition of racetracks and industry groups came through with money that will get the Racetrack Surfaces Testing Laboratory up and running in Orono. The lab will charge tracks for analysis, but the data will be made available to anyone in the industry.

"Racehorses are almost always going to have injuries," said McIlwraith. "But we want to get that rate down as close to zero as we can get it."

This week Peterson is in Louisville to experience his first Kentucky Derby. He's the solitary figure on the track between the cacophony of morning training and the excitement of the afternoon races, taking his measurements during the break in the action. He's looking forward to watching the Derby not from one of the cushy luxury suites, but from an obscure hideaway on the far turn known as "The Hill," where the maintenance crew parks its heavy equipment.

Butch Lehr is the track superintendent at Churchill, and he's been a member of the maintenance team in one capacity or another since 1967. He could be resentful that the corporation has hired an outsider to oversee his work. Instead, Lehr said he looks forward to seeing how his methods stand up to Peterson's scientific analysis.

"I've got my theory of the way things should be, but that doesn't mean I'm right," said Lehr. "He's got the expertise. What I hear from him makes sense."

Peterson has to look back before making a prediction as to what his research will accomplish in the future.

"There were some days, standing out there on a muddy racetrack in the rain, when I thought, 'I got a degree in mechanical engineering for this?' " Peterson said. "But then I think about five or 10 years down the road. I want the racetrack to be a place where you can take your kid, and if an injury does occur, you can tell them, 'They're doing everything they can.'

"And that will be true. It will be honest. Because by then, we will be doing everything we can to help the horses."

Courier-Journal, May 2, 2009

Eight Belles' death at Derby spurred safety reforms

Death at '08 Derby spurred changes

By Gregory A. Hall

It was a horrific scene, played out on a national stage: Just moments after finishing second in the 2008 Kentucky Derby, the filly Eight Belles collapsed with two broken front legs and was euthanized on the track at Churchill Downs.

Though an investigation could find no obvious cause, the very public breakdown turned a spotlight on some of racing's darkest issues -- the potential abuse of anabolic steroids; poor record-keeping on breakdowns; and questions about track surfaces and controversial horseshoes called toe grabs.

As a result, Eight Belles' death prompted a year of unprecedented study and change in a sport known for moving at a glacier pace.

More than 20 states, including Kentucky, approved a model rule that bans most anabolic steroids and regulates four others to the point they should be out of a horse's system, beyond naturally occurring levels, by race day. At the time of last year's Derby, only about a dozen states had approved the rule.

The Jockey Club, which is the official registrar for the thoroughbred breed in North America, launched a database to track racing injuries, hoping that more reliable statistics will help determine how to reduce their occurrence.

Sixteen state racing commissions have adopted or are adopting a rule banning controversial front toe grabs, horseshoes that are similar to cleats, according to The Jockey Club.

The National Thoroughbred Racing Association created a Safety and Integrity Alliance that sets minimum accreditation standards, including having safety rails that jockeys can roll under for protection after a spill. Churchill Downs was the first track accredited under the new standards; Keeneland Race Course in Lexington was second.

After Eight Belles, "things moved faster than they have tended to do in the past, when we've had similar rules that we were trying to get adopted," said Scot Waterman, a veterinarian and executive director of the industry's Racing Medication and Testing Consortium. "What we've seen are some of the organizations in the industry that have sticks start to use them to drive change."

Steroids shunned

The biggest change from a year ago is the effective banning of anabolic steroids, which aren't allowed in human competition but had been allowed for horses in most racing states.

There's no indication that steroids contributed to Eight Belles' injury. No anabolic steroids were found in her body. But soon after the Derby, it was revealed that the race's winner, Big Brown, had been given steroids a month earlier.

Until last September, that was allowed in Kentucky. And some trainers and veterinarians argue that steroids, if administered properly, can help horses return to training and racing faster than if they recovered naturally.

But athletes have used anabolic steroids to build muscle mass, and some people believe they can be abused to build strength in a horse. Other steroids reduce inflammation and pain, which some say results in unfit and overworked horses being raced, increasing their risk of breakdowns.

Today, the steroid ban is in place in 34 of the 38 racing states. Idaho, Montana and Nevada have no ban; West Virginia says anabolic steroids are banned there, but it does not test for them. (As a result, the West Virginia Derby at Mountaineer Park in August could lose its status as a graded stake if the rule is not adopted, according to the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, whose American Graded Stakes Committee assigns the grades.)

Legislation planned

Some argue there's still much more to be done. For example, U.S. Rep. Ed Whitfield, a Kentucky Republican from Hopkinsville, said he plans to introduce a bill to mandate uniform medication rules and safety standards for racetracks across the country.

"I applaud the NTRA for everything it's trying to do," said Whitfield, who helped spearhead a congressional hearing regarding medication after Eight Belles' death.

But he said he's not convinced that racing has achieved uniform rules and believes only Congress can make sure that's done.

Whitfield said his legislation would amend a federal law that allows interstate gambling on horse races through simulcasting and, increasingly, the Internet. Industry leaders generally oppose anything that could prompt a re-examination of the interstate horse-racing law and the special exemption it gives the sport. That protection is crucial to the industry, with about 90 percent of all money bet coming from off track.

Alex Waldrop, the NTRA president and CEO, argues the industry's safety alliance provides national oversight and that congressional involvement is not necessary. He said race-day medication policies in most states are substantively the same and bring the United States into line with other countries on race-day medication.

He noted that the NTRA also hired former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary and former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson to be an independent monitor to ensure uniformity as racetracks are accredited.

"And at this point in time, we think (federal legislation) would be unnecessary and also might even distract from the good work of the industry," Waldrop said.

Joe Gorajec, executive director of the Indiana Horse Racing Commission and the outgoing chairman of the Association of Racing Commissioners International, said there is some truth to both arguments.

"I don't think the industry is all over the map," he said. "I think there's a center position that most all states comply with, and then there are a handful on each issue that are outliers. … Relatively speaking, there is uniformity."

For his part, Whitfield says there's no risk in amending the law, since those who support the uniform standards want to help the industry thrive -- not kill it.

"I would think it would be very odd for advocates for a piece of legislation (to) … allow something to take place … anywhere along the way that would in effect damage the sport that they're trying to strengthen," he said.

Injury data compiled

The furor over Eight Belles' death followed the high-profile breakdown of 2006 Derby winner Barbaro in the Preakness Stakes.

After Barbaro's death in January 2007 because of complications following surgery to repair his broken leg, an industry summit convened to work on safety issues. The result of its work included the 2007 start of a pilot program to track injuries and breakdowns in races.

The industry hadn't compiled reliable numbers despite televised, high-profile breakdowns as far back as the filly Ruffian in 1975.

The work done by that summit group set the stage for recommendations that The Jockey Club issued after Eight Belles' death. Besides a database for breakdowns, the recommendations included that states ban front toe grabs, and that they adopt rules on whips and adopt the racing consortium's steroid rule. The whip rule, which dictates the materials and sizes of riding crops, was finalized in December and has been adopted in Kentucky and Indiana, according to The Jockey Club.

The Jockey Club also later called for a task force to establish uniform testing standards to analyze equine blood and urine samples; uniform penalties for trainers, owners and veterinarians who violate the rules; and required participation in the racing breakdown database.

"A lot has been done, and there's been far more concordance with what we've tried to recommend than I ever thought would have happened this time last year," said Louisville surgeon Dr. Hiram Polk, a member of The Jockey Club's safety committee.

Two other influential groups also approved anti-steroid policies.

The Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association's American Graded Stakes Committee, which determines three classes of rankings that give individual races more prestige, required adoption of the NTRA's anabolic steroid model rule.

"When the graded stakes committee basically said, 'If you don't adopt the anabolic steroid model rule you won't have graded stakes next year,' I probably got three calls the next day from commissions," Waterman said of state regulating bodies.

The Breeders' Cup also announced a policy aimed at eliminating anabolic steroids from its season-ending championships. Trainers face a one-year suspension from the Breeders' Cup if one of their horses in the event tests positive for the steroids. Trainers with three violations in Breeders' Cup championship races -- no matter how much time passes between infractions -- face a lifetime ban.

Tracks try safety measures

Racetracks have undertaken their own efforts, including Churchill Downs Inc., which announced its "Safety from Start to Finish" program in March to beef up safety measures at all four of its racetracks.

The company said it is spending at least $1 million annually for independent, standardized testing and monitoring of track surfaces, and expanded drug testing for winners at all of its tracks.

What's next may depend in part on when Whitfield files his proposal. He delayed filing legislation in the last session of Congress after consulting with House Democrats and others.

"Even though at first blush this looks like a rather uncomplicated issue to address … we've discovered that it is complex," he said.

Yet even industry leaders acknowledge more must be done to ensure safety on the track.

"The critical piece about this (response to Eight Belles) is maintaining the momentum," The Jockey Club committee's Polk said in an interview. That could include improving the quality of laboratories used to test blood and urine samples for medication violations, uniform punishments and looking at whether the United States should join overseas jurisdictions in banning all race-day medication.

Churchill Downs Inc. CEO Bob Evans said at a news conference announcing Churchill's accreditation last month that the next wave of reform may come after racetrack injury reporting data is analyzed.

And a reminder of what's at stake came during training Monday morning at Churchill, when one horse dumped its rider and charged down the stretch and into another horse that was standing on the track.

The horse that was hit -- in front of a crowd gathered for the festive Derby week tradition of Dawn at the Downs -- suffered injuries requiring it be euthanized.

Daily Racing Form, July 10, 2009

Jockeys Try Out New Whips

By David Grening

As part of the safety guidelines recommended by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association's Safety and Integrity Alliance, jockeys here on Wednesday began experimenting with new whips that are designed to be gentler on horses. Beginning Wednesday, and lasting throughout this meet, the stewards will designate two races each day where the jockeys are required to use the safer whips.

These whips cannot be longer than 29 inches long, as compared with 31 inches. The "popper'' - the part of the whip that touches the horse's skin - is 5 1/2 inches long, or 2 1/2 inches more than the older whips, and has more padding to help soften the blow to a horse.

NYRA officials hope to have all the jockeys using these whips by the time the Saratoga meet begins on July 29. Bruce Johnstone, NYRA's manager of racing operations, selected three types of whips that have been widely accepted by riders at Keeneland.

"The main thing is get the jocks comfortable with them,'' said P.J. Campo, vice president and director of racing.

Ramon Dominguez, the leading rider at this meet, said these whips have been mandatory at Delaware Park, where he formerly rode, so he is more used to them than a veteran New York rider.

"You see some riders not too happy riding with it; you can't blame them because they're used to so many years riding with the same type of whip,'' said Dominguez, who won one of Wednesday's races in which the new whips were used.

Daily Racing Form, August 23, 2009

Official Calls for U.S. to Ban Lasix in Stakes

By Matt Hegarty

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Medication rules in the U.S. are out of step with the rest of the racing world and will prevent the country from participating in an international effort to standardize drug rules worldwide, the top official of the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities said at the Jockey Club Round Table on Matters Pertaining to Racing on Sunday.

Louis Romanet, the chairman of the IFHA, sharply criticized the raceday use of the diuretic furosemide - known as Lasix - and the liberal use of non-steroidal inflammatory drugs in the U.S. as part of his keynote address at the Round Table, which focused this year on medication and safety issues in racing. During his remarks, Romanet gave no indication that foreign countries would consider legalizing the use of Lasix, and he also said that unless the U.S. bans the race-day administration of the drug, international efforts to include the country in an ongoing process to standardize rules will fail.

"You can do it if you want to do it," Romanet said, as he asked the U.S. to ban the use of Lasix in all black-type races by 2012.

Though no other major racing country permits its use, furosemide is legal to administer on race day in every jurisdiction in the U.S., and it is currently administered to virtually every horse that starts in a U.S. race. The drug is used to treat exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhaging, the clinical term to refer to bleeding in the lungs while racing.

Though Romanet's comments were met with vigorous applause and several vocal calls of support from some corners of the conference room at the Gideon Putnam Hotel, where the Round Table was held, the U.S. racing industry is unlikely to embrace any effort to ban Lasix's race-day use, even in limited circumstances such as stakes races, especially in light of the release of a study earlier this year that purported to show that the drug effectively treats the severity of bleeding under actual racing conditions. The study was funded by North American racing interests.

Prior to Romanet speaking, Dr. Scott Palmer, the chairman of the American Association of Equine Practitioners' Racing Committee, said during a presentation that the AAEP unequivocally supports the race-day use of Lasix, citing the study s results. And, in addition to being ingrained in the training regimens of nearly every Thoroughbred trainer in the country, all major horsemen's organizations continue to support the race-day use of Lasix, a position that has only hardened since the release of the study.

In his remarks, Romanet said that the race-day use of Lasix cannot be justified under the arguments that were used to advance its legalization in the 1970s, citing statistics showing that the average number of starts per year for a racehorse in the U.S. has declined from 11.31 in 1960 to 6.2 in 2008. As Lasix use began to be liberalized in the U.S., most supporters of the drug argued that it would allow horses to race more often and stem the already accelerating decline in number of average starts.

Romanet also said that the use of Lasix interferes with worldwide efforts to establish threshold levels for therapeutic medications in post-race drug tests by diluting the concentration of medications in urine samples, thereby requiring that there be different standards for the U.S. and the rest of the world. The IFHA is currently attempting to establish uniform threshold levels for all member countries as a recognition of the increasing sensitivity and technological sophistication of post-race tests.

Although Lasix use will likely remain a unbridgeable gap between the U.S. and the rest of the racing world, participants at the Round Table appeared to be willing to tighten U.S. regulations on the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications such as phenylbutazone, banamine, and flunixin by prohibiting the administration of the drugs within 48 hours of a race, as indicated by Stuart Janney, the chairman of The Jockey Club's Thoroughbred Safety Committee, in his remarks. Janney and Palmer both said that regulatory veterinarians have begun to criticize the use of the drugs within 48 hours of a race for interfering in the evaluation of horses during pre-race examinations, citing the ability of the drugs to mask pain and cover up lameness. Although not all jurisdictions allow for use of painkillers with 48 hours of a race, many major racing states allow horsemen to administer the drugs within 24 hours of a race.

Palmer and Joe Gorajec, the executive director of the Indiana Horse Racing Commission, both cited efforts currently underway in the U.S. to raise support for an interstate racing compact that could streamline the adoption of model rules in racing jurisdictions. The compact, which has been endorsed by The Jockey Club and the Association of Racing Commissioners International, would create an umbrella organization among the racing states that joined the compact by allowing the states to adopt rules en masse, instead of individually. Draft legislation for the compact has already been written in New York.

In addition, Gorajec called on regulators to immediately ban the use of so-called adjunct bleeder medications-- such as aminocaproic acid and conjugated estrogens, which have been legalized recently in several major racing states. Gorajec said that racing commissions have authorized the use of the medications under pressure from horsemen and veterinarians without properly studying the efficacy or side effects of their use.

"Don't inject first and ask questions later," Gorajec said.

The jumble of claims at the Round Table about drug use and the industry's proper response to overhauling its current medication rules underlined the difficulty the U.S. racing industry is facing as it attempts to formulate a set of rules that are both meaningful and consistent with the demands of the sport's fans, participants, and the general public. Many other sports are also going through similar processes because of recent doping scandals and public outrage over the efforts by those sports to combat illegal drug use.

Steve Crist, the chairman and publisher of Daily Racing Form, cited the public concerns over racing's medication policies through the responses he received after asking racing fans to post comments on his blog regarding their opinions of drugs in racing. The request received more than 550 responses, Crist said, which led him to conclude that "there's a huge difference between perception and reality." The solution, according to Crist, is to address inconsistencies in the rules and create regulations that allow enforcement agencies such as racing commissions to differentiate between minor violations like drug overages and deliberate attempts to cheat.

"Of course we have a problem with drugs in racing," Crist said. "We probably always have, and perhaps we always will. But we're not going about rooting it out the right way. And in failing to do so, we're both worsening the perception and failing to address the reality of the problem."

Thoroughbred Daily News, August 24, 2009

Round Table Focuses on Medication Issues

By Maryjean Wall

The broken beast that represents conflicting medications policies throughout the United States needs fixing, participants agreed Sunday at the 57th annual Round Table Conference of The Jockey Club.

Yet the debate over how to make repairs reminded all that this will not be an easy problem to fix. Conference presenters at the Gideon Putnam Resort in Saratoga Springs, NY, produced a range of possible solutions at this meeting styled on the theme of “Medication: Where We Stand Today (Here and Abroad).”

Keynote speaker Louis Romanet of France received enthusiastic applause and a few expressions of “bravo” after stating he would like to see anti-bleeder medication banned by 2012 in all North American stakes races.

“Make no mistake, the medication issue is the most important issue for the Thoroughbred industry around the world,” said Romanet. The Frenchman is chairman of the International Federation of Horse racing Authorities through 2012.

Romanet praised The Jockey Club’s leadership in spearheading a number of changes to the sport following the furor that rose after the filly Eight Belles broke both front ankles after running second in the 2008 GI Kentucky Derby. “You have done more in the last 12 months than in the past 25 years,” Romanet said about changes that have included action on the part of a large number of racing authorities to ban anabolic steroids for competition purposes.

But Romanet also plucked at the conscience of The Jockey Club, asking that body to extend its influence further in encouraging state regulators to ban race-day medications, including anti-inflammatory drugs. He asked, “How can we still recognize world champion horses that run on medications?” Romanet pointed out that the average number of annual starts per horse continues to decline despite the use of therapeutic medication. “I have one question,” he said: “When do you intend to stop?”

Dr. Scott Palmer presented another side to this complex issue. Speaking as chairman of the racing committee of the American Association of Equine Practitioners, Palmer referred to a recently published research paper in which the evidence argued that treating horses with Salix on race day was in the best interests of the animals.

Palmer also pleaded for support of an interstate compact which could streamline passage of racing rules across state lines--an umbrella organization that would operate without waiting for individual state legislatures to act. “This would be our opportunity to make landmark reform,” he said, describing the present system as “broken.”

Steve Crist, chairman and publisher of the Daily Racing Form, gave the view from bettors, the public, and the media on medication. He told how e-mail response to his request for readers to frame the issues facing racing were that “drugs are out of control,” that the need exists for “harsh penalties” and “it’s time for horse owners to take responsibility.”

Joe Gorajec, executive director of the Indiana Horse Racing Commission, urged that adjunct bleeder medications be banned. He also explained how Indiana's racing authority receives $1 million annually from a legislative-mandated share of casino money to add to an administrative fund used for financing equine drug-testing and other initiatives. Gorajec suggested this “Indiana model” as a solution to state racing authorities strapped for funds.

Stuart S. Janney III, chairman of The Jockey Club’s Thoroughbred Safety Committee, said state veterinarians are questioning the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs within 48 hours of race day “to ensure uncompromised pre-race exams.”

William S. Farish, vice chairman of The Jockey Club who stood in for the absent Ogden Mills Phipps, Jockey Club chairman, also delineated the complexity of the medication issue.

“Seeking balance between therapeutic medication and a level playing field should always be a priority for this industry,” Farish said.

Asbury Park Press, September 29, 2009

Racing Board to Limit Use of Steroids in Horses

By Bob Jordan

A rule establishing a testing program and penalties for use of androgenic-anabolic steroids in thoroughbred race horses has been proposed by the New Jersey Racing Commission, officials said Monday.

The rule would be similar to those adopted in more than 20 states in recent years.

New Jersey regulations lagged until a state appeals court reversed a ruling that prevented officials from pursuing new guidelines. An organization representing horsemen had argued that the racing commission acted before a study on the topic had been completed.

Androgenic-anabolic steroids are substances that increase muscle size and strength, but they also induce behavior in horses such as biting, kicking and aggressiveness toward other horses and humans, officials said.

The proposed rule bans the administration of anabolic steroids to thoroughbred race horses except for specified levels of four permitted steroids. The concentration of a permitted steroid would have to be so low that it cannot affect a horse's performance in a race. Trainers who violate the rule would face license suspensions and fines.

Public comment on the proposed rule will be accepted until Nov. 20, officials said.

According to the rule proposal by the racing commission, "The penalties authorized by this rule will have a positive deterrent effect on the use of anabolic steroids and decrease the number of horses that compete in pari-mutuel races with anabolic steroids in their systems. This decrease will be positive as it will help promote racing by ensuring an added fairness that will benefit those who wager (and) may result in an increase in racetrack attendance and wagering."

Racing Post, October 7, 2009

Romanet Calls on US to Adopt Harmonisation of Medication Control in 3 Years

By Howard Wright

Medication failed to figure as a formal topic on the agenda for the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities annual conference in Paris, but chairman Louis Romanet took the chance to repeat the call for a clean-up in the US that he made there in August.

As well as urging the US to develop ‘screening limits’ for therapeutic substances, as are applied in Britain, France and Ireland, Romanet told a round table conference in Saratoga of his dream that by the end of his current term as IFHA chairman in 2012, medication would be banned in all Graded and black-type races run in North and South America.

He told the most powerful group of delegates in US racing: “Medication is the most important issue for the image of the thoroughbred industry around the world.

“You have already started the process very courageously, with the impressive achievements of the thoroughbred safety committee and the racing and medication testing consortium.

“But how can we still recognise as world champions horses who run under medication? What sport today would accept that situation?”

Speaking yesterday, after the conclusion of the Paris conference, Romanet further acknowledged the steps that have been taken in the US towards removing the application of medication.

He said: “There has been a clear change since the Eight Bells incident in the Kentucky Derby, and North America has done more in the last 12 months than during the previous 25 years, but there is more still to be done.

“The American graded stakes committee has adopted a drug-testing protocol and makes races ineligible for grading if model rules on medication and safety are not adopted. And the Breeders’ Cup has extended its drug ban policy.

“The IFHA is hoping that the US authorities will start from there by continuing to progressively tighten up the medication rules, firstly for Graded races and then for all other black-type races, since these are races from which the breed is selected.

“We also advocate that the use of Lasix should ultimately be banned in these races.”

Daily Racing Form, Novermber 19, 2009

Giving safer whips a crack

By Marcus Hersh

Calvin Borel knew they would be coming.

Turning for home in the Woodward Stakes on Sept. 5 at Saratoga, Borel had the lead riding Rachel Alexandra. She already had turned back foes hounding her during the first two-thirds of the Woodward. Now the closers were on the hunt.

At the three-sixteenths pole, Borel went to his whip. He smacked Rachel three times right-handed, switched over to his left hand, whipped her five times, and then went back to his right for a final surge as Macho Again drew nearly even.

In the final 150 yards or so, Borel gave Rachel Alexandra 15 pops of the crop, tapping her on the shoulder a couple of times and showing her the whip between smacks to the rump. At the wire, it was Rachel by a head.

Borel had whipped the filly more than 20 times on her hindquarters. In the days that followed, online blogs hummed with comments, and letters to the editor came into Daily Racing Form: Had Rachel Alexandra been abused by Borel's whip?

But there was another question, nowhere asked: Had Rachel even felt the sting of Borel's whip in the Woodward?

Borel was using the latest in riding-crop technology, a low-impact whip tipped with a long, padded popper. (Click for a look at the differences between new and old whips.) Lighter and producing less sting, the new whips may cost riders a measure of control and instill in some horses less urgency to give their all. But throughout the country, new whip rules are coming into effect because of pressure placed on racing following the high-profile deaths of Barbaro and Eight Belles, whose catastrophic breakdown after finishing second in the 2008 Kentucky Derby spurred an industry-wide assessment of the safety of racehorses.

Three states - Kentucky, Indiana, and South Dakota - have mandated use of the new, more horse-friendly whips. California has a proposed state rule, and jockeys there already are riding with new crops, a change mandated by Del Mar and Hollywood Park racetracks. Santa Anita, Delaware Park, Monmouth Park, and Philadelphia Park have "house rules" requiring the use of new crops. In New York, jockeys at the Saratoga meet took the lead, electing to use new whips beginning Aug. 16. New whips are already fully in use or being phased into tracks operated by Churchill Downs Inc. Canadian venues require new whips, and stewards there scrutinize the number of times jockeys strike their horses, handing out fines for overuse of the crop.

The new equipment feels and works differently than the old. The popper on the end of a traditional riding crop is about two inches long and made of solid leather. Used too vigorously, it can raise welts and draw blood. Not so the new whips, which are tipped by a popper about six inches long. Sewn inside a soft pad of woven fibers made to look like leather is a piece of foam. When it strikes horseflesh, the lighter, thickly padded whips make an impressive pop while delivering their cushioned message.

Horses used to being encouraged by the whip's sting may no longer feel compelled to respond. Riders accustomed to whaling away in the stretch may discover they're wasting energy.

"The whip is not a whip," Hall of Fame jockey Kent Desormeaux said during the Keeneland fall meet. "It's a noisemaker."

A few days earlier, at Hawthorne in Chicago, veteran rider E.T. Baird had said: "If I had to make a comparison, the old one, it's 'pop,' and the new one, it's like you're hitting with a marshmallow."

An impetus for change

Eight Belles was whipped 10 times by jockey Gabriel Saez in the 2008 Derby, a low number, given the magnitude of the event. Still, for many people these days, with the presence of domesticated animals in daily life greatly diminished and with more attention to animal rights, whipping feels unacceptable.

Outcry against whips was heard as far back as 1980 in England. In April 2007, padded whips became mandatory in flat races there, and steeplechase riders in the British Isles already were using softer crops. And while racing insiders would have scoffed at the idea that Eight Belles broke down because of whipping, racing's critics did not hesitate to make the jump. On the website of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, a blog post from last summer still makes reference to Eight Belles's breakdown in the context of the whip:

"Most of you probably remember the tragedy at the 2008 Kentucky Derby in which a young filly, Eight Belles, was whipped mercilessly in the final stretch, only to break both her front ankles after she crossed the finish line," reads the posting.

It was not just PETA, the radical edge of anti-racing, responding to the Eight Belles breakdown. Coming out of the 2008 Derby, the public's perception of the sport might have been at an all-time low. A consumer research firm employed by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association compared racing's image to that of Tylenol in the 1980s and boxing in the 1990s.

The Grayson Jockey Club formed its Thoroughbred Safety Committee on May 8, 2008, just days after the Derby. Issues taken up there already had surfaced in two earlier Jockey Club Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse summits. Three concerns were attacked in this initial phase of the post-Eight Belles crisis: Toe grabs, steroids - and the riding crop.

There was talk of banning the whip, but jockeys had to explain why that wasn't possible. For example, if a horse running full speed decides it would like not to finish negotiating a turn and heads for the outside fence, a polite request from a 110-pound human may not be heeded.

"A whip is a useful guiding tool," said jockey Robby Albarado. "If a horse is getting out, pop, pop, pop - you can control them with it."

The first new whips were obtained for use in flat races during the 2008 meet at Ellis Park in western Kentucky. At the recommendation of the Jockey Club, riders there began trying the padded whips that had been adopted by steeplechase jockeys. But the riders encountered problems.

"Steeplechase riders, you know, they can be 6-foot-1," said Johnston, the Guild rep. "When our riders reach back to hit with that length whip, they don't get where they need to be. So the first whips were too short. In the second phase, the poppers didn't pop at all. The jocks said it was like hitting them with a feather. The horses weren't respecting it."

Even when manufacturers got the length right and put more pop in the popper, there were further setbacks.

"Those early new whips were breaking," said jockey John Velazquez. "I broke three the first week [at Keeneland] last spring."

Larry Fowler, who is based in Kentucky and has been making whips for 22 years, theorized the new whips might have broken more often because jockeys were striking harder than in the past, trying to compensate for the cushioned blow. Or perhaps the new poppers transferred energy differently.

"Maybe the recoil was into the shaft and not so much into the popper," Fowler said.

New whips are more expensive than old whips, costing from $60 to $100. Their length and weight varies. Although the Association of Racing Commissioners International has released model rules governing crops, it is up to jurisdictions to set basic whip guidelines. ARCI standards require a whip weigh no more than eight ounces, be less than 30 inches long, and have a shaft at least one-half inch in diameter. The flap, or popper, must be between .8 and 1.6 inches wide.

New whips are assembled much like the old. They start with a four- or five-foot tapered fiberglass rod, which is cut into a whip length. The fiberglass is then wound with duct tape to achieve a desired width. Around the tape goes fabric, and over the fabric, a rubber handle. At the last, the popper gets slid on and glued into place.

"At first, I was like, 'Nah, I can't believe they're making jockeys do this,'" said Garrett Broussard, who makes whips for Desormeaux, Albarado, and Edgar Prado and works as a jockey's valet at Fair Grounds. "But now I'm used to it."

No horse or rider is the same

How will the new whips affect the performance of a rider? As usual, it depends on the rider and how much they relied on the whip to begin with.

"Different riders have gotten the most of a horse different ways," said trainer Neil Howard, who has been on the racetrack since the 1970s.

Some famed riders of the past were known for making the most of their stick.

"There was [Angel] Cordero, of course, and Jorge Velasquez," Howard said. "Of course, the guy I consider the god of riders, Pat Day, he probably didn't wear out one whip in his entire career. [Braulio] Baeza, he was another one, a finesse rider. They all have the same goal but get there a different way."

Riders such as Garrett Gomez in Southern California spoke favorably about the new sticks even as they were in the process of being adopted. But many jockeys say the whips take getting used to.

"Initially, I didn't like it," Albarado said. "I thought it was useless, and I'm not one of those guys that's going to overpower a horse. But everything's changing now. The perception is we're using a safer whip."

Advocates for an all-out whip ban contend striking a horse will not actually make it run faster, but that is not the prevailing view among current riders, who say some horses do respond to the whip by exerting themselves more fully, some don't.

"It takes them out of being lazy," said Baird. "Most of the horses, they're pretty free-running. A lot of them, it wouldn't bother them if you hit them with a bazooka. They're going to protect themselves. But you can compare it to people: Some are more motivated, more aggressive, than others."

Said Velazquez, who is not noted as a heavy whipper: "I always thought you've got to get in a rhythm with a horse first before you worry about whipping. There are some times when I feel like a horse needs to be whacked a couple times to really get the most out of them."

James Graham often has gotten mounts because he is a strong jockey who readily goes to his stick.

"I'm an aggressive rider, and I get paid to ride the way I ride," said Graham. "I use the whip more than average. It's fair to say that they do respond more to the old whips. The new whips are light - very light. Some of the cheaper [horses] won't respond as much."

Desormeaux said he has at least grown accustomed to the different feel of the new sticks during the last several months.

"All I know is everyone is using the same thing," he said. "It's a level playing field."

New whips, new rules

It remains to be seen whether a new generation of whips is accompanied by a new era of whip regulation. Jockeys in Australia recently staged a strike when the national authority attempted to impose regulations on how often a horse could be whipped in a race, and the authority eventually ceded ground. The 2008 Cheltenham Festival in England, a major jump-racing meet, turned chaotic and contentious as stewards handed down a flurry of bans for abuse of the whip. Riders felt confused about what was acceptable. Less-informed members of the public got the sense abuse was rampant, though cushioned crops were being used.

Canadian tracks have been handing penalties for overuse of the whip since new standards took full effect Sept. 15. "It's been fairly smooth, with one or two wrinkles," said Woodbine steward Gunnar Lindberg.

Jockeys riding at Woodbine can't raise their arm above their shoulder when using their crop. And after whipping a horse three times in a row, a jockey must wait at least one stride, and preferably two or three, before delivering another blow. Fines for violations are progressive and can be costly in stakes races worth more than $100,000, where too much whipping can cost a jock 20 percent of his purse earnings.

Riders at Woodbine, faced with a loss of income, are making adjustments. But elsewhere, jockeys find rules governing use of the whip difficult to take. In the United States, use of the whip is monitored by track stewards, but there are no codified rules.

"I think that goes way beyond," said Velazquez, who is chairman of the Jockey's Guild. "You go to one place, they fine you for hitting too much. You go to another place, they want to fine you for not getting into a horse enough if you miss third by a nose or something."

Maybe in some future stakes at Saratoga, a jockey will indeed be brought to heel for the number of times he strikes his mount. But in this year's Woodward, Borel, wielding a new crop, could use it as he chose - not really knowing if his whip was having any great effect.

"At Pimlico, I hit her twice, and that's all it took," said Borel, who carried an old-fashioned crop when Rachel Alexandra won the Preakness. "Two times, and she was gone. [At Saratoga], I was hitting her, but it was just to keep her momentum going. It looks so bad, it was pitiful. To my view, these sticks make it worse, because you hit them so many times. You don't know if they're going to respond."

Borel, old racetrack hand and clearly no cheerleader for the new whips, said this from the jocks' room recently at Churchill Downs, readying himself for a day's worth of mounts. He would be riding all that afternoon carrying one of his Broussard-made, heavily padded crops. Like it or not.

INTERNATIONAL REGULATIONS

A sampling of whip regulations at racetracks around the world:

United States: Variable regulations with ARCI guidelines. Whip use is monitored by track stewards.

England: Whip's contact area must be covered by shock absorbing material. A rider cannot raise the whip above his shoulder or whip his horse more than once per stride. Rider can hit the horse any place except on the quarters with the whip in either the backhand or forehand position and down the shoulder with the whip in the backhand position.

Canada: Whips conform to the ARCI model rules. Jockeys may whip horses no more than three times in a row and must break for at least one stride, preferably two or three. Jockeys cannot raise arm above shoulder, and the whip is not to be used when a horse is not visibly responding or is not in contention.

Japan: There are no limitations on whip use during a race.

Hong Kong: Stewards may punish a jockey if in their opinion he has used his whip to excess or in an improper manner. After a race, if a horse is found to have been marked in any way by a jockey, the rider will be fined by stewards.

Australia: Leather pads on the whip are not permitted, and the foam in the padded segment of the whip must be at least 0.28 inches thick. Riders are limited to seven forehand strikes in the last 100 meters of a race; before the 100-meter mark, the rider cannot use the whip in a forehand manner in consecutive strides and may not use it in a forehand manner on more than five occasions.

France: A rider who whips his horse more than eight times in a race will be suspended or fined. The rider may also be sanctioned if he uses his whip with great force or when the horse is only 2 years old.

DVM Newsmagazine, December 1, 2010

RCI Rules on Reducing Phenylbutazone Thresholds in Racehorses

By Ed Kane, PhD

On Oct. 25, the Board of Directors of the Association of Racing Commissioners International (RCI) voted 16 to 0 in favor of lowering the threshold level for the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) phenylbutazone from 5 µg/ml of plasma or serum to 2 µg.

The RCI’s Model Rules Committee suggested lowering the threshold for penalty for phenylbutazone—also called bute—to the board based on recommendations from the RCI Regulatory Veterinarians Committee, the RCI Drug Testing and Standards and Practices Committee, the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium, The Jockey Club’s Thoroughbred Safety Committee, The Jockey’s Guild, the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association and the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP).

“In the long run, it’s probably going to be better for horses and certainly better for racing,” says Larry Soma, VMD, Dipl. ACVA, professor of anesthesia in the Department of Clinical Studies at University of Pennsylvania’s New Bolton Center.

The literature pertaining to the use of NSAIDs in horses includes several indirect models. These models look at the depression of substances related to the inflammatory process (i.e., cytokines) to determine the course and magnitude of the response to various NSAIDs and doses.

“These studies suggest that in horses and ponies, at 24 hours after administration of the higher dose of phenylbutazone [2 g], there’s still an effect,” Soma says. “And most studies indicate that at 48 hours or with lower doses, the effect is less or gone.

“The recommendation that you go from a threshold of 5 µg/ml to 2 µg/ml of serum is probably going to be beneficial in the long run,” Soma says. “If it’s going to cut back on some of the injuries we see in racehorses, that’s positive, though there are many reasons why a horse becomes injured, and medication is just one possibility. We’ll see over the next year or so if the overall catastrophic or noncatastrophic injury rate is reduced at some of the racetracks.”

Soma says that for veterinarians to achieve the 2-µg level, they will need to cut the dose in half. Thus, instead giving 2 g of phenylbutazone the day before a race, they should give 1 g. Or if a veterinarian is going to continue with the higher dose of 2 g, the horse will have to wait at least 36 hours before it runs. “There are ways of doing this without interfering too much with the trainer’s regimen,” Soma says.

In Pennsylvania, where the ruling has been in effect since mid-September, Soma says that, as far as he knows, “the lab has not detected any overages, so all the horses have been at 2 µg/ml or below. The transition, so far in this state, has been very smooth.”

Practitioners’ perspectives
On the following pages are thoughts on this new ruling from equine practitioners who work within various racing jurisdictions.

Kathleen M. Anderson, DVM, Equine Veterinary Care at Fair Hill Training Center, Elkton, Md.
Works at racetracks in Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, New Jersey and New York.
I feel extremely well-informed on this issue because I practice within seven racing jurisdictions, and they all have different bute rules. It’s an action I’ve been expecting for a long time.

I don’t feel this is a hardship at all for horsemen or for practitioners. In my experience and for the horses that I deal with, I think the 5-µg level would rarely be approached on a treatment level. We tend to treat very similarly for all the racing jurisdictions because the appropriate amount usually ends up right around 2 µg. In my experience, very few horses would be negatively impacted by a little less bute—meaning I don’t think the majority of horsemen rely on high levels to get horses to the races.

Bute is like any anti-inflammatory given to any species. The benefit is that treated horses can be more comfortable, so they may avoid compensatory injuries. The downside is that some of the horses receiving phenylbutazone don’t do well metabolically, so those are the ones that can either be managed with medications such as omeprazole or not treated with bute at all. I treat a number of horses that would fit into that category. They don’t get bute; they don’t run on it. It’s not part of their programs.

Once the ruling goes into effect, we’ll find out quickly that higher levels of bute are unnecessary. Like with the use of anabolic steroids, nobody could live without them until they had to. This is just one more step toward uniformity among medications between jurisdictions. And it’s a good thing.

Scott Hay, DVM, Teigland, Franklin and Brokken, DVM’s, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Works at Calder Casino & Race Course, Miami Gardens, Fla., and Gulfstream Park, Hallandale Beach, Fla.
Under the rules we work with in Florida, the new threshold doesn’t change how we practice very much. Most of the horses, if administered 1 g of bute 24 hours before racing, should test below 2 µg. We may need to move our administration out a little further or reduce our dose marginally to keep the odd horse from getting an overage.

People are going to have to be more careful about how they use bute in their horses leading up to the day before a race. If they give 1 g 24 hours before racing, but after the horse has been receiving bute for several days, there may be an elevated serum level. That is a concern.

We work in Delaware within our practice, and they’ve been on a 2.5 µg rule. Everyone here is conscious to give bute before noon the day before the race just to make sure they keep their levels down.

As far as working with the rule, I think it’s very manageable. We’re just going to have to be careful to prevent overages.

Bryan Young, DVM, Young Equine Services, Cypress, Texas
Works at Lone Star Park, Grand Prairie, Texas; Remington Park, Oklahoma City; and Sam Houston Race Park, Houston.
I’m a member of the AAEP and its racing committee, and we support the reduced threshold level for bute. And as a practitioner, I support the reduced level.

There has been some anecdotal evidence this may contribute to a lower rate of breakdown injuries, and that’s good. Anything we can do to bring down that injury level is a good thing. From a practical standpoint, I don’t see threshold as affecting what I do. We give what I would refer to as appropriate doses of bute at appropriate times. As far as a pre-race medication and the way we practice here in Texas and Oklahoma, those levels are below the already existing threshold and would be below the recommended threshold.

I think where you’re going to see a change is in how the industry works, perhaps in training these horses on bute. Trainers won’t be able to use bute on a daily basis, especially leading up to a race, as they would with the previous threshold level. But as a matter of practice for me, it’s not going to change what we do much. I think from the standpoint of allowing the regulatory veterinarians an opportunity to look at these racehorses on race day, with a lower level of bute on board to give them a more accurate view, it’s a positive thing for racing.

I know some groups are opposed to the new threshold level, and I understand their concerns. A lot of the concerns come from worrying that, in these horses, there might be some bute overages with this lower threshold level. But I think as the industry adjusts to the lower threshold, it’s going to be better for everybody. I certainly understand their concern with the lower threshold levels. Certainly nobody wants bad tests, but I think, overall, it’s going to be a positive thing for racing.

Mary Scollay, DVM, member of the RCI Regulatory Veterinarians Committee
Works at Churchill Downs, Louisville, Ky., and Keeneland, Lexington, Ky.
As a regulatory veterinarian, I’m supportive of the change because this issue was brought to the RCI and the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium in the first place. The regulatory veterinarian is charged with the responsibility of determining whether a horse is fit to compete or not through a pre-race examination or inspection.

That inspection typically is done the morning of a race. There were concerns raised by my colleagues and myself regarding the ability to perform an accurate assessment if the horse were under the pharmacologic influence of NSAIDs. If the things that we’re looking for during a pre-race inspection in terms of heat, pain, swelling and inflammation were mitigated by the effects of medication, then we really couldn’t assess the horse’s condition.

I think the modification certainly helps address the concerns of the people performing the pre-race exams.

Ed Kane, PhD, is a researcher and consultant in animal nutrition. He is an author and editor on nutrition, physiology and veterinary medicine with a background in horses, pets and livestock. He is based in Seattle.

Bloodhorse.com, February 9, 2011

KY Drug Council Targets Corticosteroids

By Tom LaMarra

The Kentucky Drug Equine Research Council, citing a need to explore use of corticosteroids in racehorses, agreed Feb. 9 to take bids for research into one of the drugs in the research planning phase.

The KEDRC, which makes recommendations to the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, received a letter from The Jockey Club urging Kentucky to take the lead in the research. The drug council receives a portion of revenue from pari-mutuel handle in Kentucky, and is believed to have about $3 million on hand.

Though most racing jurisdictions in North America have greatly curtailed the use of race-day medication, corticosteroids, commonly used in racehorses, are getting a hard look from industry officials.

Corticosteroids, usually injected into joints and not currently regulated, are being studied by the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium, the broad-based national group that makes recommendations to regulators for use in model rules. Nine corticosteroids have been identified for development of threshold testing levels, which means they would be treated like anabolic steroids—permitted for therapeutic non-racing use but banned on race days.

Industry officials and veterinarians have indicated joint injections are commonplace at racetracks. Over time, they could have debilitating effects, they have said.

The drug that could be researched with Kentucky funds is isoflupredone, which on veterinary websites is said to have a “potent anti-inflammatory effect.”

Ned Bonnie, a member of the KEDRC and the KHRC, said use of corticosteroids could increase should Kentucky lower the threshold testing level for phenylbutazone, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug that can’t be administered within 24 hours of a race. “This becomes very important if there is movement in Kentucky on phenylbutazone, and there is interest,” Bonnie said.

Bonnie cited comments from people involved with second careers for racehorses who claim racehorses that have been regularly injected with corticosteroids have trouble rehabilitating.

“It’s a tear-jerkers’ argument, but it’s out there,” Bonnie said. “I know from personal experience it’s a serious problem.”

Dr. Scot Waterman, executive director of the RMTC, said corticosteroids and NSAIDs such as phenylbutazone are “closely linked. They’re both anti-inflammatory in nature.”

The RMTC has identified eight corticosteroids to be researched; work is under way on four of them, officials said.

“Regulatory veterinarians have said corticosteroids are high on their list of concerns,” Kentucky equine medical director Dr. Mary Scollay said. “It’s a good time to get the work done.”

By statute, any research paid for by KEDRC funds must be performed in Kentucky.

In a related matter, the KEDRC and the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission Feb. 9 approved an addendum to a new drug-testing contract with HFL Laboratory, which has been acquired by a company called LGC, a worldwide entity involved in forensics and pharmaceutical standards. Its Lexington laboratory is its first in the United States.

The addendum includes pricing for out-of-competition testing and new race-day drug-testing protocol that will begin Feb. 11 at Turfway Park in Northern Kentucky.

Bloodhorse.com, February 9, 2011

National Racing Compact Bill Clears KY Senate

By Esther Marr

Following testimony by horse racing officials, legislation authorizing Kentucky to join a proposed National Racing Compact passed through the Senate State and Local Government Committee Feb. 9 on a unanimous nine-person vote. Later that day, the bill also cleared the Senate on a vote of 37-0.

Republican Sen. Damon Thayer, chairman of the committee, explained to members how the National Racing Compact bill, which now moves to the House floor for a vote, would allow Kentucky to work with other racing states on items of joint interest, such as racing integrity; horse and jockey safety practices; and medication and wagering issues.

“This bill would make Kentucky a leader on the interstate compact issue, which has been worked on by multiple parties across the country the last several years,” said Thayer, who pre-filed the legislation in December.

If the bill clears the House, Kentucky would be the first major racing state to adopt the compact. In order for the organization to move forward, however, five additional states would also have to approve the bill.

Other jurisdictions expected to introduce legislation in 2011 are Delaware, Indiana, New Jersey, New York, and Virginia. While Colorado isn’t considered a major racing state, it has already approved the compact bill.

“The compact protects our sovereignty by sending a message to the federal government that we do not need federal intervention in the horse industry,” said Thayer, who claimed that having such a national organization would allow better efficiency for racing commissions to work together and create uniformity among the states.

Rick Goodell, assistant counsel for the New York State Racing and Wagering Board and chair of the National Racing Compact, explained how the bill would give state racing commissions the option—but not require them—to participate in the same rules and programs as other states. It would simplify procedures for horsemen that race in multiple jurisdictions, Goodell explained.

“The state racing commissions would continue to perform the same functions, but at the same time (the compact) would allow them to participate in some projects and rule making in conjunction with each other,” he said.

If a racing commission disagrees with a particular rule, it may choose not to adopt the rule. But the compact, which would have officials from different states meeting on a regular basis to discuss various issues, provides a better chance at compromise and uniformity, Goodell said.

Goodell said that after meeting with several racing organizations the last two years, such as the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, The Jockey Club, and the National Horsemen’s Benevolent Protective Association, it became apparent horsemen should also have the opportunity to give input on the rules that would be adopted by the compact, which he has written into the legislation.

Goodell said that since there is already a National Racing Compact in place, there would be no additional cost for states to join the compact. “We’ll use the existing resources of each state commission and the national commission,” he said.

Lisa Underwood, executive director of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, has been a member of the Interstate Racing and Wagering Compact Steering Committee since it was set up in September 2009, and has been working the last two years on the language for the compact bill. She gave several reasons why the KHRC is in support of the compact: It will provide Kentucky with the opportunity to have leadership role in the organization to influence surrounding states on different issues; the KHRC doesn’t have to adopt rules it disagrees with; states can act collectively on rules they do agree on; and states would retain control and the ability to enforce their own rules.

“It’s a matter of trying to build consensus along the way and listen to different perspectives," Underwood said. "We’ll have a national input that we don’t have on the state level, and we’ll be working at same time on the rules. But states can always opt out (of rules) if they don’t think it's going in the direction they want it to go.

“If Kentucky is able to accomplish this, hopefully other states will come along.”

Louisville Courier-Journal, February 10, 2011

Senate Approves Step Toward Uniform Racing Rules

By Gregory A. Hall

FRANKFORT, Ky. — A bill seeking to promote uniform thoroughbred racing rules around the country received unanimous approval Wednesday from the Kentucky Senate.

The approval of Senate Bill 24 by a 37-0 vote followed a similar vote earlier in the day by State & Local Government Committee. The bill now goes to the House.

Committee chairman Damon Thayer, the Georgetown Republican who sponsored the bill, said that if it becomes law, Kentucky would be the first racing state to enter what would be a national compact.

Thayer said compact would address members of Congress who have suggested federal intervention may be needed to regulate the sport.

“It protects our sovereignty by sending a message to the federal government that we do not need federal intervention,” Thayer said.

Six states are needed for the interstate compact to become effective. Kentucky would be the first formally to adopt it.

Rules on matters such as licensing and medication would be created by a national commission, on which Kentucky would have a member. If the Kentucky representative opposed any rule proposal, the rule would not take effect in the state, said Lisa Underwood, executive director of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission. She said the Kentucky commission would direct its compact commission member how to vote.

One advantage cited by proponents is that rules could take effect in several states at the same time, rather than being subject to individual states' approval processes.

Currently, several industry groups propose model rules, but then each state has to adopt them individually, which takes longer in some states.

The compact is the result of efforts led by the Association of Racing Commissioners International, of which Underwood is a board member. She also has been on the steering committee that developed the proposal.

Remi Bellocq, chief executive for the National Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, said his group hasn’t endorsed the proposal but also isn’t opposing it. As a member of the steering committee, Bellocq said he believes there are enough provisions to give horsemen a say in what the compact commission does.

Kentucky HBPA executive director Marty Maline has said his group, which represents owners and trainers, isn’t taking a position, but he questions whether it will achieve its goal of uniformity if states can pick and choose the parts they want.

Even if some rules aren’t adopted by all participating states, Bellocq said there are many others that can be agreed to, which he said would make the compact process valuable.

“Plus on top of that, in my view, it’s a more structured rule making process than we have right now,” he said.

Bellocq said he believes that for the compact to have a chance, it needs to get a major racing state like Kentucky to endorse it, which might lead a state like New York to follow.

House Speaker Pro-Tem Larry Clark, D-Louisville, said he hasn’t seen the bill and would have to wait and see.

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