StrideSAFE Town Hall Hoped to Ease Horsemen Concerns

In a two-hour-plus-long town hall meeting that at times grew contentious, StrideSAFE CEO and co-creator veterinarian Dr. David Lambert along with Churchill Downs Inc.'s equine medical director Dr. Will Farmer tried June 26 to answer questions and ease concerns of horsemen and veterinarians alike.

With people able to attend and ask questions in person at Churchill Downs' Equine Medical Center as well as via the meeting's YouTube live stream, Lambert and Farmer reviewed how the technology works and how it is implemented.

Presented by the Kentucky Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association, the meeting was moderated by the National HBPA CEO Eric Hamelback, who opened the proceedings by saying, "Regulations are not going to eliminate risks. It is very important that everyone outside of our industry understand that. Science is not going to eliminate risks in horse racing. We can't create regulations and just expect all those risks to go away. We don't want regulations and ultimately, diminished horsemanship. But frankly, I think that's the road that we're on. … Science is important. And we try to make sure we educate folks on what can we do better, to help mitigate risks."

Farmer discussed the Washington State University study being conducted at Churchill Downs and Ellis Park. He said the study has two prongs: develop protocols for a horse that is red-flagged, meaning its gait showed indication of potential injury, and correlate high-speed works to racing.

Lambert then went into the specifics of StrideSAFE, showing readings of horses that were both normal or "green" and those that were flagged. He provided data from 6,616 horses that a red-flagged horse is 300 times more likely to sustain injury than one that registers in the green category. 

Lambert emphasized that StrideSAFE is not a diagnostic tool. He said StrideSAFE is "not a soundness model; it's a possibility of breaking down model." 

He said, "There are things we're doing wrong, I'm sure. There are things we're missing the point, I'm sure. There's things we can do better, I'm certainly sure about that. But it's you guys; I need the information back in order to work that out."

But not everyone was on board. 

One person in attendance challenged the insight of StrideSAFE, telling Lambert, "So you're saying the vets that I pay all this money to, or jockey these horses, are not smart enough to tell if they are off the left front, the right front, the rear?"

He continued, "You're (technology) is telling us that all these people who have been in this business all of these years … we don't know what your (technology) is going to tell us."

"There are things happening only at high speed that aren't happening anywhere else," Lambert replied, while noting he is not telling people how to do their jobs. 

Lambert added, "We're here to help you share (information) with your vets so they can interpret it … and just do our little bit to try to help. That's all we're trying to do. We're not second-guessing anybody, we're not criticizing anybody."

Another attendee followed Lambert by acknowledging that technology has made life better for horsemen and safer for racehorses.

The study, which received a grant from the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, has raised concerns among some horsemen that the data collected might be sent to that governing body, the state vet, or to the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority.

Because the information is restricted to the university, the data cannot be used to give anyone an advantage on claiming a horse. Farmer noted the reports on each horse wouldn't be completed until after race day.

"While this study is funded by the KHRC, this is with a third party. So this is going to Washington State University," said Farmer. "There's very strict confines about how this data is to be used and what it's to be used for. And that is the works of Washington State University." 

Part of the study involves conducting PET scans on horses flagged as high-risk to examine them more closely for an existing injury. Concerns over the cost of those scans were raised, but Farmer noted the cost of advanced diagnostics—not limited to PET scans—was built into the cost of the study.

A horse stumbling out of the gate, stepping on a rock, losing a shoe, or the jockey losing an iron could result in a red flag. However, Lambert said that reviewing a video replay of the race, discussions with the trainer, and other means of exploring possible causes is part of the evaluation process. 

Part of implementing StrideSAFE will be teaching vets how to read the information produced by the system. 

"They need to be able to sit down with this data just like an x-ray, or just like an ultrasound," said Lambert. "They're going to have to be able to go through the slides."

Hamelback said recent comments from StrideSAFE researchers that seven of eight horses that died from musculoskeletal causes at Churchill Downs recently had pre-existing conditions appeared to indicate trainers and other connections would have known that prior to running the horses. 

"When we look at the press, when we look at the optics of what the rest of the industry sees, they see those statements (after injuries or death) being, 'Oh, well, somebody knew that horse had a red flag, and this is what happened.' That's where the rub lies, is nobody knew that," he said. "The only horses that are going to be improved when it's being done just in a race are the horses that don't actually have a catastrophic failure. 

"Those are the ones that we can now follow up."

Hamelback added, "Having that baseline … going forward, I think is going to be able to help trainers, attending veterinarians actually know if there's a problem."

Farmer said, "The intent of this is that valuable, helpful information is ultimately getting back to your trainer and their veterinarians and they're going to make the best welfare choices for their horses as possible."