Representatives from the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) and the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU) hosted a Town Hall Friday to dig down into the information issued in their recent annual reports and fatality metrics.
One aim of the town hall, said HISA CEO Lisa Lazarus, was to publicly “look under the hood” of the fatality numbers to better understand how they're compiled.
“How do we collect these metrics? What does the process look like? Why are we very confident that they are accurate?” said Lazarus.
As much as the town hall was a backward look over the numbers, it provided a glimpse into what federal regulators are doing to further improve equine and (by extension) human safety.
This includes a deeper dive into the causes behind shoulder fractures, otherwise known as proximal forelimb fractures–a fairly rare but nonetheless serious problem that, according to current data, appears most commonplace among horses when they start training or are returning to training after a layoff.
“In 2024, approximately 15% of our fatalities, racing and training combined, were attributable to proximal forelimb fractures,” said Jennifer Durenberger, HISA's director of equine safety and welfare.
“We have done a really nice job of building on the foundation of identifying which demographic is most susceptible to these that we can put that out there for industry awareness,” said Durenberger, who explained this information would be issued in the form of an advisory memo.
“My goal [is] to reduce these proximal forelimb fractures significantly in a very short time,” said Durenberger.
Racing and Training Fatalities:
As per the recently released 2024 equine fatality data, last year was first (since the Jockey Club started compiling its nationwide Equine Injury Database) that racing fatalities were below one race-day fatality for 1,000 starts, at a rate of 0.9 fatalities per 1,000 starts.
This figure was for HISA-regulated tracks. For tracks not regulated by HISA, the race-day equine fatality rate was almost double that number and showed a slight increase from 2023 figures.
For the first time, HISA issued an annual report on training fatalities. Similar in effect to race-day fatality numbers, a training fatality comprised horses who died or were euthanized within 72 hours of an injury (or other event) sustained during a timed workout.
Last year under HISA-regulated tracks, there were 181 of these training-related deaths, equating to 0.50 deaths per 1,000 official workouts. Lazarus stressed how, if regulators were accounting for all training activities, “the number would be much lower.”
Fatal injuries of a morning, however, aren't confined to high-speed workouts.
“I think there is a misunderstanding that horses only sustain fatal musculoskeletal injuries during timed and reported works, and that's not true,” said Durenberger.
In a preliminary lookback, Durenberger explained, about one-third of fatal musculoskeletal injuries during morning training were not associated with breezing. “They were galloping. They were two-minute licking,” said Durenberger.
“About [another] third of the time, we know they were either in the middle of, or just consequent to, a timed and reported work,” she added. “And there's another third where we're not sure or we don't have the right data. We'd like to get a bit more [information] about that for this year.”
Indeed, Anjali Salooja, HISA's director of operations and compliance, discussed the steps the federal regulator was taking to better understand the specific causes behind all fatalities, both morning and afternoon.
“For each training and racing fatality, we're also providing a subclass reflecting whether we believe the fatality was musculoskeletal or sudden death or other. We're hoping to share that data with the public as soon as this year,” said Salooja.
“We're also looking at providing fatality metrics by racing surface, condition of surface, claiming races, again with an eye to teasing out some patterns–being able to ascertain improvements year over year, and hopefully shining a light on exactly what is going on that's leading to certain types of injuries and fatalities,” Salooja added.
Scratches:
One key change under HISA's watch is more uniform pre-race veterinary scrutiny–scrutiny, of course, that can lead to the last-minute scratch of a horse.
Last year, the TDN found that scratched horses are notably more likely to face extended periods of time off than non-scratched horses. They typically take longer to get back on the work tab and to the races. A significant number simply never make it back.
At the same time, given the money and time often invested into an intended runner, scratches are a major headache for connections. It appears, however, that the scratch-rate pre-and-post implementation of HISA hasn't changed notably.
According to data presented at Friday's town hall, 12.7% of entries were scratched at HISA tracks for the first 30 months of HISA's implementation.
Over an equivalent period prior to implementation, 11.9% of horses were scratched.
The specific reasons underpinning these scratches are currently unknown. But regulators are digging down into this data, Lazarus explained. In other words, “what categories have the most scratches and what categories have the least,” she said.
ADMC Program:
HIWU's executive director Ben Mosier walked through some of the key statistics outlined in the agency's recent annual report. This included:
- That there were 76,534 samples collected last year from 26,585 different horses.
- That the Adverse Analytical Findings (AAF) rate worked out to 0.48% of all tests processed. In short, an AAF is the finding of a prohibited substance.
- That 14 individuals took advantage of the pro bono legal representation program on offer.
- That nearly 85% of tips submitted through an anonymous tip-line warranted a follow-up.
“We have an extremely low rate of controlled medication positives or overages. I think that just goes to show that we're making a lot of progress and that the vast majority of horsemen are following the rules,” said Mosier.
The average case resolution times have increased slightly from 2023 to 2024 by about six days. Mosier said this was primarily down to an increased case load last year over the year prior.
In 2023 (when HIWU was operating for about seven months), there were 238 notices filed, compared to 394 notices filed last year (using the full calendar year).
Furthermore, the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium's (RMTC) long-awaited study into Metformin is likely in its closing stages, said Mosier.
“It has been reported to me by the RMTC that their scientific advisory committee is reviewing information. But [they] should be nearing the end of that study of relevant data,” said Mosier, “and announcing as well any recommendations on how we move forward with regulating Metformin.”
According to Lazarus, HISA will be holding another town hall Apr, 24 to discuss the agency's financial and budgeting processes.
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