Should Breathing Operations Be Declared in the Best Interests of the Breed?

The debate over whether trainers should have to formally declare that their horse has had a breathing operation since their last run is not a new one, but the momentum behind such a move seems to be growing. Indeed, the British Horseracing Authority announced during the summer that they had started to formally consider the merits of the proposal.

This news was greeted with great enthusiasm from many followers of racing that take the view that there is no such thing as too much high-quality information. However, there was also plenty of negative comment from the training and breeding ranks amongst others.

First of all, it must be acknowledged that this is not a straightforward issue. There are many different types of breathing operations with greatly varying severities, thus it would be inappropriate to label them all under a single one-size-fits-all banner. This raises difficulties with defining what constitutes a breathing operation as well as presenting practical challenges in how they are reported. However, while there would be some challenges to overcome in collecting the data, there is a strong argument to be made that it will be more than worth the effort.

The collection of high-quality data allows informed conclusions to be drawn which leads to real progress being made and knowledge being expanded. There are so many variables in horse racing that people simply don't know how significant they are because of a resistance and/or unwillingness from the racing authorities to collect and publish accurate information. This simply has to change if the industry is to move forward and, such is the importance of it, perhaps the breathing operation issue is the one to kick start a wholesale change in attitude in this regard.

The reasons why this issue is so important are numerous. It has become a constant source of frustration for the racing/betting public to only find out that a horse has had a breathing operation just after they have won, information that would have been considered very significant had it been known pre-race. Indeed, one can only guess at how many breathing operations go unreported win or lose. That being said, the significance of this issue extends well beyond the interests of the betting public. It is about perception, transparency, horse welfare and arguably most importantly, the best interests of the breed.

Given that we often only tend to hear about breathing operations after a horse has won, a perception has grown amongst many in the racing industry that such procedures are a highly-effective tool that all but guarantee an improvement in form. This has led to what seems a vast increase in the popularity of these procedures in the last decade, with it having become the norm for horses to have multiple breathing operations spread over a period of time.

This is precisely why it is so important that breathing operations are made declarable. It won't be until this information is made available that we will be in a position to crunch the numbers and draw objective conclusions as to the effectiveness of the procedures, which has the potential to benefit every stakeholder in the industry.

Perhaps such data will reveal that some breathing procedures are far more effective than others, information which will be beneficial to racing and veterinary professionals as well as racehorse owners. Who knows, maybe the data will reveal that some or maybe even all breathing operations are much less effective than had been thought and that they are a waste of owners' money, trainers' time and put horses through unnecessary and ineffective surgical procedures?

The biggest benefactors of breathing operations being made public are likely to be breeders, as it will empower them with significant new information that they can use to make more discerning breeding decisions.

One can only imagine that a colt that is retiring to stud that has had a breathing operation will be less valuable with that information in the public domain than he would in the current climate where such information is likely to be a closely guarded secret.

In the longer term, statistical trends are sure to emerge and perhaps certain stallions will be revealed as breeding a disproportionately high number of horses that go on to have breathing procedures, which will inevitably and quite rightly reduce the appeal of their progeny.

Likewise, fillies that have had breathing procedures are likely to be devalued as broodmare prospects and broodmares that throw horses that require breathing operations are likely to have their progeny viewed negatively as a result.

On the flip side, breeders that stand stallions and have broodmares that were clean-winded on the track and that breed clean-winded horses should welcome the collection of this sort of data with open arms, as it will offer them a new and attractive means to promote their horses and their progeny.

The possibilities are multi-stranded and important on many levels. We as an industry aren't just in the game of racing horses, we are cultivating a breed of animal that has been in constant development for over 300 years. Any information that helps us optimize the breed and weed out negative influences such as breathing problems is surely a no-brainer for any forward-thinking breeder/owner/trainer/vet?

Unfortunately, short-term commercial concerns will inevitably fuel resistance to this proposal from some racing professionals. Be it veterinarians preferring that the lofty anecdotal reputation of breathing operations remain untested by verifiable statistical analysis or racing professionals who do not wish to see racehorses, broodmares or stallions devalued by such information being in the public domain, there is sure to be negativity, including from some powerful sources.

However, such negativity is unwarranted. Indeed, I would suggest that such views are just the latest examples of the infuriating they-don't-need-to-know attitude from many stakeholders in racing that consistently holds back the sport from entering the 21st century.

I would dare to suggest that other than those that instinctively oppose any sort of change, and make no mistake there are plenty of those in positions of power in horse racing, the only people that are afraid of this information being made public are those that financially gain from the actual effectiveness of breathing operations remaining completely unverifiable in statistical terms and/or those that have something to hide with their horses.

As mentioned earlier, if the BHA or any other international racing authority are going to proceed with this, they need to do it correctly. For me, this would involve collecting as detailed information as possible so that detailed conclusions can be drawn from the data. Printing such specific information as the individual type of breathing operation in short form on a race card is unlikely to be practical, but what I would suggest is the use of an icon or letter to signify that a wind operation has been performed since the horse's last start, with the specific nature of the procedure being published online and made available to those that wish to know and/or analyze the data.

One can only hope that the BHA go ahead with this proposal and do it the right way. It will be a great day for the sport of horse racing in this part of the world when the authorities embrace progress and take it upon themselves to do everything they can to allow themselves and others to objectively examine every aspect of the sport in an effort to make it better. Getting this issue right would be a real step in the right direction.

Feedback: Kevin Blake at @kevinblake2011 (or [email protected]).

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