Disturbing article on incidents at race tracks

[Bast]

Statistics released just last week by The Jockey Club revealed that for the third straight year thoroughbred racing on synthetic surfaces resulted in a lower equine fatality rate than dirt racing. The fatality rate on synthetic surfaces was 1.09 per 1,000 starts last year, compared with 2.07 per 1,000 starts on dirt. Races conducted on turf had a fatality rate of 1.53 per 1,000 starts in 2011 from 50,362 races run.

http://www.jockeyclub.com/mediaCenter.asp?story=546

reenci: Please share with us the sources of the science that supports your observations.

Thanks!

Allison

I speculate (note, not cite as facts) whether the number of synthetic tracks, and their presence in the higher end racing centers, have something to do with the disparity between the 1.09 vs 2.07 rates cited. I don't know for a fact, but wonder whether because Chicago, Toronto, LA, and Keeneland are the ones holding synthetic meets (for higher purses?) that there is another factor at work behind that delta. IOTW, if lesser centers with smaller purses, had synthetic surfaces, would the delta hold? Perhaps if purse amounts could in some way work into the analysis a truer guide could occur.

Turfway is not high end. This past meet they have had an excellent safety record-one fatality.

[photofinish]

I also noticed a glaring ommission, in the original article, of any mention of New York's infamous "Golden Boy" Dick Dutrow. How do you have a 19 page article slamming racing's underside and omit one of the worst offenders in the game????? One of our ruling bodies recommended banning him for life due to his unprecedented record of bad tests, yet they never even bring him up. Huh. Curiouser and curiouser....

[Shammy Davis]

Bast: To your point about Turfway not being high end. The issue is truly whether track owners are willing to invest in safe track surfaces and features, not higher purses or the character of high persona meets.

"Whenever an industry is under duress, it becomes easier to make poor decisions," Scollay said. "Turfway could have cut corners on their surface management. Horsemen could have decided appropriate vet care was neither affordable or justifiable and the racing office could have put pressure on people to enter horses that were not adequately conditioned or to over-race horses. Clearly we could be telling a very different story here."

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/03/22/35 ... rylink=cpy

[Sailor Kenshin]

Naturally the Fed wants to barge in with 'regulations.'

They don't give a damn about horses. They just want their pockets filled with your money; it's always about killing whatever remains of private industry.

And it wont. Help. The. Problem. If there is a problem.

[BenB]

This is interesting.

http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/ ... tion-rules.

The industry will try to phase it out, as large numbers from groups are against it.

They meet the international standards, and that is encouraging.

[Bast]

This is interesting.

http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/ ... tion-rules.

The industry will try to phase it out, as large numbers from groups are against it.

They meet the international standards, and that is encouraging.

Ben,

Who sets these standards? Is there a place online where they are posted?

Thanks.

[Hotwalker]

Steven Crist refuting the stats used to support the Times piece:

http://www.drf.com/news/crist-home-brew ... s-analysis

[BenB]

http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/ ... tion-rules

This one works.

Any state that does not implement them in their own jurisdiction, is voting against the well beiing from the horses and the jockeys.

Just klick on the blue words in the first sentence from the artikel

[bdw0617]

horse racing has it's issues, but i do not agree with the fact that TB and QH racing gets lumped together. that's not fair at all. TB trainers and owners should not be held accountable for the meat market that is QH racing. they are two totally different beasts.

[BenB]

Pointing out, to something else, does not help your own case.

The US tb industry needs to be held for its own state of buisiness, and that,s bad compared to other jurisdictions in the world.