Dr. Sue Stover

Handicappers use the term "bounce" to explain a poor performance of a horse or to project a possible poor performance. This handicapping angle is more pronounced in demanding stakes races where a horse will often meet a field where only a top performance will result in a placing. But what does a "'bounce" really mean? It refers to a horse that had a recent fast performance, several tough races in a short period or many races in a racing campaign. The handicapper is implicitly (and unknowingly) using basic biology to...

The Thoroughbred Education and Research Foundation (TERF) has awarded a $10,000 research grant to the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation, Inc. The funding will support the work of Dr. Sue Stover at the University of California for research involving motion of the proximal sesamoid bones. The research project will examine how uneven footing, hoof conformation, shoeing, and uneven racetrack surfaces could contribute to fetlock breakdowns.

In the latest in a series of webinars hosted by the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation Tuesday, Dr. Sue Stover, Professor of Surgical and Radiological Sciences at UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, spoke on what veterinarians have learned from the California Necropsy Program. "The program was not only created to find the nature of injuries, but also to see how they are developed and prevent them," Dr. Stover said. "We are trying to reduce horse injuries as well as jockey injuries." Dr. Stover showed evidence that most catastrophic injuries are...