Fatality Report

In data released by The Jockey Club's Equine Injury Database for 2019, the rate of fatal injury for Thoroughbreds last year dropped to 1.53 per 1,000 starts from a rate of 1.68 in 2018. It was the first time the rate has decreased since 2016, and overall the fatality rate is down 23.5% from the 10-year high of 2.0 per 1,000 starts in 2009. Based on the data, 99.84% of flat racing starts at racetracks that participated in the EID occurred without a fatality. A graph depicting all updated statistical...

One day after the bombshell announcement that the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York had filed indictments against 27 Thoroughbred veterinarians and trainers for an array of drug offenses, the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) released its long-awaited report on the 23 equine catastrophic injuries that marred Santa Anita during the first few months of its 2018-2019 winter-spring meet. The resulting report provides not only an extremely detailed dive into the multi-factorial nature of the causes behind these catastrophic injuries, but a lengthy series of recommendations...