MJC Outlines Safety Protocols in Place for Preakness

After a rash of equine deaths at Churchill Downs ahead of the Kentucky Derby (G1) brought added scrutiny of the protections in place for horses, the Maryland Jockey Club May 18 noted the precautions in place for the Preakness Stakes (G1), which include extensive veterinary reviews of each competitor.

In a video conference Thursday, Dionne Benson, chief veterinary officer for MJC owner Stronach Group (1/ST), outlined safety initiatives that begin weeks before the May 20 Preakness at Pimlico Race Course. She said those efforts begin with out-of-competition testing of likely starters in the Preakness and May 19 Black-Eyed Susan Stakes (G2) as well as TCO2 testing of all likely graded stakes starters this weekend at Pimlico, to try to ensure that horses are not receiving banned substances that could compromise the integrity of the race and endanger the horse and rider.

For every horse entered at Pimlico the next two days, they'll have to be approved to run by their own attending veterinarian—the vet that works with the horse each day. Prior to shipping, every horse was observed on track by a MJC-affiliated vet.

"We've had someone go out and examine them, and jog them, to ensure that they feel the horses are racing sound before they even make it to Maryland," Benson said. Horses also receive multiple on-track exams at Pimlico. "We are doing this to ensure that those horses are fit throughout the entire week and look good every day coming into the Preakness (and Black-Eyed Susan)."

She noted that horses need to be on the Pimlico grounds at least 72 hours before the race and that many arrived well before that deadline. 

"I think that these protocols give us the opportunity to really observe the horses and give our vets the tools and the touch points that they need to make sure that these horses are as sound as we need them to be," Benson said. "We are being as safe as absolutely possible coming into these big races."

Aidan Butler, CEO for Stronach Group (1/ST), noted that on big-race weekends where many of the horses ship in to compete, it's important to have added safety exams in place as the vets are not as familiar with these Thoroughbreds as they would be with horses that regularly compete in Maryland.

In terms of racing surfaces, Butler noted that there are 16 people assigned to reviewing the turf course and the same number to the dirt track. Like all 1/ST tracks, Pimlico receives an outside review from the Racing Surfaces Testing Laboratory. 

"Every day we take moisture readings, we do depth charts, and we monitor all of the data collected to make sure that anything that comes (outside the norm) is addressed," Butler said. "The good thing about Pimlico is we actually train on it year-round. So when it comes to our staff, sometimes I have the easiest job because it's things we do day-in and day-out anyway."