SARATOGA SPRINGS — A new federal authority that was created to regulate horseracing is examining a spate or recent equine fatalities at Saratoga Race Course, which has had 12 horses perish during the season that began July 13 and ends on Labor Day.
The Horseracing Safety and Integrity Authority, which was created under the federal Horseracing Safety and Integrity Act, said it is collaborating with the New York Racing Association and state Gaming Commission in the review, which includes “reviewing necropsy results, veterinary records, racing and training histories, surface maintenance logs and weather records gathered by local veterinarians and other officials.”
HISA, as it is known, reviews every equine fatality under its jurisdiction. But the number of deaths at Saratoga this year has prompted what the organization described as an “expanded review” with the findings made public when its completed and “used to inform potential interventions moving forward.”
The organization also investigates doping in the industry under new rules that detail which medications are permitted for horses and what performance-enhancing substances are banned. The investigations include collecting samples, performing testing and monitoring activities on and off the tracks to root out cheating.
“The health and safety of horses and jockeys competing at NYRA tracks is our highest priority and one that stands above all other considerations,” said Patrick McKenna, a spokesman for NYRA. “NYRA is strongly supportive of the work HISA is doing here in New York state and throughout the country to enhance safety and protect the integrity of the sport.”
McKenna also provided data indicating that five of the deaths this season were a result of catastrophic injuries during races that has thus far featured 2,390 horses starting in 314 races. Another horse — Burning Bright — died during a race as a result of a heart attack, he said.
Four other horses suffered catastrophic injuries during training exercises at Saratoga. (McKenna said nearly 10,000 horses have taken part in high-speed workouts at the facilities in Saratoga since it opened for training on April 15.) Two other horses died from causes not connected to racing or training, according to McKenna. He said those types of “other” fatalities can range from being caused by colic or respiratory infections to chronic lameness or traumatic injuries suffered in a stall or while being walked in a stable area.
The organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has released regular statements during NYRA’s Saratoga Race Course season, including one Wednesday, when Burning Bright died during a race, criticizing the racing organization for announcing new safety protocols that day, which won’t be in place until the last week of the season.
“Now that the heat’s on, NYRA — which did little to protect the horses — is trying to placate the public with a 'safety’ measure that won’t even be in place until the last week of the Saratoga season, after the Travers Stakes weekend,” EPTA Senior Vice President Kathy Guillermo said. “PETA denounces the new protocol as public relations drivel and renews its call for Saratoga to suspend racing until NYRA puts a serious safety plan in place.”
On Friday, Guillermo issued a statement to the Times Union applauding HISA for opening an expanded review of the deaths at Saratoga this summer.
“PETA is relieved HISA is investigating, and its first act must be to suspend racing at Saratoga now, just as Churchill Downs did after 12 deaths,” she said. “PETA also looks to HISA to do a thorough investigation, reach conclusions, and recommend life-saving changes. We don’t buy inconclusive results when horses’ lives are at stake. Saratoga has been known as the Graveyard of Champions because of all the historic upsets of favorites on the track, but now it’s literally become a graveyard.”
The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act charged the new safety authority with drafting and enforcing uniform safety and integrity rules in thoroughbred racing across the country. The authority is comprised of two programs: the Racetrack Safety program, which went into effect July 1, 2022, and the Anti-Doping and Medication Control program, which went into effect May 22.
The Racetrack Safety Program includes operational safety rules and national racetrack accreditation standards that seek to enhance equine welfare and minimize equine and jockey injury, according to HISA. The program also “expands veterinary oversight, imposes surface maintenance and testing requirements, enhances jockey safety, regulates riding crop use and implements voided claim rules, among other important measures.”
The medication program includes centralized testing and management of results and uniform penalties for violations.
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August 26, 2023 at 05:06PM
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Federal authority investigating Saratoga Race Course horse deaths - Times Union
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