Fewer Fatalities Tied to Risk-Factor Changes

Analysis of the Equine Injury Database suggests improvement in some risk factors may have played a role in the decline in the number of catastrophic injuries per 1,000 starts in dirt races from 2014 to 2015.

Dr. Tim Parkin, senior lecturer at the University of Glasgow in Scotland and an EID analyst, June 28 said a look at racetracks that had a "significant" drop in injuries points to four changes in some of the established risk factors for breakdowns. He made his presentation during the Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit at Keeneland.

Parkin said the tracks—he didn't identify them because of EID protocol—had a 2%-9% reduction in number of starts on "off" tracks; a two- to 10-fold increase in time spent with the same trainer; a three- to five-fold increase in number of days since a horse's last race; and a 2%-4% decrease in the number of races at distances less than six furlongs.

According to EID statistics, the overall fatality rate went from 1.89 per 1,000 starts in 2014 to 1.62 per 1,000 starts. The number of racing fatalities on dirt surfaces last year was 1.78 per 1,000 starts, the first time the figure was under two per 1,000 starts in the seven-year history of the EID.

"The collective efforts may be starting to bear fruit," Parkin said. "This is significant improvement with a lot of unknown variables. The more data you have you're more likely to identify (other) risk factors. We started from a standstill and it's growing very quickly."