Equine Injury Database: Another Record Year for Safety

Racing enjoyed a second straight record year in terms of equine safety in 2020 according to Equine Injury Database data released March 29 by The Jockey Club.

According to the EID, the rate of catastrophic injuries in 2020 was 1.41 per 1,000 starts—a record low for the 12 years the rate has been tracked. It's a second straight record low following the rate of 1.53 per 1,000 starts in 2019.

The 2020 rate translates to horses returning home safely—in terms of avoiding such incidents—in 99.86% of starts.

The overall trend for such incidents has been downward since the EID determined a rate of 2.00 incidents per 1,000 starts in 2009. The rate in 2020 is nearly a third lower than that initial rate, down 29.5%. Even compared with the record year in 2019, the catastrophic injury rate declined 7.8% in 2020. 

Key statistics from the 2020 analysis are as follows (figures represent the incidence of racing fatality per 1,000 starts):

By age

2-year-old: 1.69

3-year-old: 1.57

4+-year-old: 1.29

By race distance

Less than six furlongs: 1.66

Six furlongs-one mile: 1.35

Longer than one mile: 1.22

By track surface

Dirt: 1.49

Turf: 1.27

Synthetic: 1.02

For trends of the EID since 2009, please visit jockeyclub.com/pdfs/eid_12_year_tables.pdf.

Two-year-olds have consistently been associated with the lowest incidence of racing fatality since the EID began in 2009. In 2020, the incidence for 2-year-olds was 43% higher than in 2019. Three-year-olds and older horses saw declines of 8% and 14%, respectively, in the incidence of racing fatality per 1,000 starts versus 2019. None of the differences in incidence among age groups were statistically significant.

The incidence of catastrophic racing injury on dirt surfaces in 2020 was the lowest on record at 1.49 per 1,000 starts. Races on the grass were 19% lower in 2020 versus 2019 and the fourth lowest for that surface since 2009. Synthetic again had the lowest incidence of all racing surfaces at 1.02 racing fatalities per 1,000 starts. 

The incidence of fatal injury per 1,000 starts for races shorter than six furlongs (1.66) was again greater than other distance categories of six furlongs to a mile (1.35), and longer than a mile (1.22). The incidence of catastrophic injury for both distance categories in excess of six furlongs were the lowest on record in the EID.

"Overall there was an 8% decrease in the risk of fatal injury from 2019 to 2020. Since 2009, risk has declined by 29.5% or equivalent to 140 fewer horses sustaining a fatal injury while racing in 2020 than would have occurred had there been no change in risk since 2009," said Dr. Tim Parkin, the veterinary epidemiologist who has consulted on the EID since its inception. "We will dig deeper into the numbers in the coming months to better understand trends in the 2020 data."

Kristin Werner, senior counsel for The Jockey Club and administrator of the EID, said additional data should provide useful information in the effort to further reduce such incidents.

"Although we are thrilled to see improvement in the numbers from 2020 and commend the racetracks and regulatory authorities in their efforts to reduce injuries, other areas require closer study," Werner said. "The recording of additional data through tools like the Electronic Treatment Records System and the Management Quality System of the Racing Surfaces Testing Laboratory will give regulators, racetracks, and researchers a better understanding of horse health and racetrack safety, allowing for additional scrutiny and research aimed at preventing injuries."

Since March 2012, racetracks have been able to voluntarily publish their statistics from the EID on The Jockey Club website. The racetracks that publish their EID statistics reported racing fatalities per 1,000 starts of 1.30 as compared to 1.47 for those that do not publish. 

The 21 racetracks accredited by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association Safety and Integrity Alliance reported 1.32 racing fatalities per 1,000 starts versus 1.48 for the 62 non-accredited tracks that raced in 2020 and reported to the EID.  

The EID statistics are based on injuries that resulted in fatalities within 72 hours from the date of the race. The statistics are for official Thoroughbred races only and exclude steeplechase races. Summary statistics for the EID are subject to change due to a number of considerations, including reporting timeliness.

The list of racetracks participating in the EID and detailed statistics from those tracks that voluntarily publish their results can be found at jockeyclub.com/default.asp?section=Advocacy&area=11.

Throughout the course of 2020, approximately 99.7% of all North American Thoroughbred starts were included in the EID.

The Equine Injury Database, conceived at the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation's first Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit, was launched by The Jockey Club in July 2008 and seeks to identify the frequencies, types, and outcomes of racing injuries using a standardized format that generates valid statistics, identifies markers for horses at increased risk of injury, and serves as a data source for research directed at improving safety and preventing injuries.