HISA recommends additional safety measures following Churchill Downs announcement
Updated: 6:09 PM EDT Jun 1, 2023
HISA recommends additional safety measures following Churchill Downs announcement
Updated: 6:09 PM EDT Jun 1, 2023
I’M VICKI GEORGE. WE BEGIN TONIGHT WITH BREAKING NEWS. JUST MOMENTS AGO, THE HORSE RACING INTEGRITY AND SAFETY AUTHORITY ANNOUNCED ITS OWN SAFETY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CHURCHILL DOWNS. THIS WAS AN INVESTIGATION INTO AN UNUSUALLY HIGH NUMBER OF HORSE DEATHS AT THE TRACK STARTING ON SATURDAY. THERE WILL BE ADDITIONAL SCREENINGS OF HORSES ENTERED IN RACES, INCLUDING REVIEWS OF PAST PERFORMANCES AND MORE INTENSIVE MEDICAL EXAMINATIONS. THESE RECOMMENDATIONS COME JUST HOURS AFTER CHURCHILL DOWNS IMPLEMENTED ITS OWN SAFETY CHANGES EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY, THE SPRING HAS RESUMED WITH TWILIGHT THURSDAY, RACING. AND THAT’S WHERE ALEXIS MATTHEWS IS LIVE WITH THE LATEST ON THE NEW MEASURES. ALEXIS. YEAH, VICKI AND RICK. AMID 12 HORSE DEATHS SINCE THE START OF THE SPRING, MEET ONE MAJOR QUESTION IS WHAT IS GOING ON AT CHURCHILL DOWNS? AND WHILE THE HORSE RACING OVERSIGHT AUTHORITY HAS STEPPED IN TO TRY AND ANSWER THAT, AT THE SAME TIME THAT TRACK OFFICIALS ARE ENFORCING NEW SAFETY INITIATIVES ON THURSDAY, CHURCHILL DOWNS ANNOUNCED SEVERAL NEW SAFETY INITIATIVES FOLLOWING A SPECIAL MEETING WITH TRACK OFFICIALS AND HORSEMEN. THE NEW MEASURES INCLUDE PAUSING TRACK BASED INCENTIVES SUCH AS TRAINERS, START BONUSES AND PURSE PAYOUT ALLOCATIONS TO EVERY RACE FINISHER, RESTRICTING THE NUMBER OF STARTS PER HORSE TO FOUR DURING AN EIGHT WEEK PERIOD. IN MAKING HORSES THAT PERFORM POORLY INELIGIBLE TO RACE AT THE TRACK. THE IMMEDIATE CHANGES HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO IMPACT HORSE TRAINERS THE MOST, BUT HORSE FANS AT CHURCHILL DOWNS FOR TWILIGHT THURSDAY REACT TO THE NEWS. I’M JUST HERE TO HAVE FUN. I HOPE THAT THEY ARE PROTECTED 100% AND I WISH THEM THE BEST SO IT’S NECESSARY. I MEAN, AND YOU KNOW, I KNEW THEY WOULD DO IT AT SOME POINT IN TIME. SO I’M NOT SURPRISED AT ALL THAT IT WAS DONE. UNFORTUNATELY, ALL THIS HAPPENED PRIOR TO FINDING OUT MAYBE WHAT WAS WRONG. SO I’M GLAD THEY CAME TO A CONCLUSION AND HOPEFULLY THAT WILL NOT HAPPEN AGAIN. CHURCHILL DOWNS URGENCY TO PRIORITIZE HORSE SAFETY COMES AFTER AT LEAST 12 HORSE DEATHS AT THE TRACK. THE TRACK HAS GOTTEN CONCERN AND CRITICISM FROM SOME, INCLUDING ANIMAL RIGHTS GROUP LIKE PETA, WHICH HAD A MOBILE BILLBOARD OUTSIDE THE TRACK. BUT IT’S THE HORSE RACING INTEGRITY AND SAFETY AUTHORITY, OR HIZA, THAT IS CONDUCTING ITS OWN INVESTIGATION OF THE FATALITIES. THIS WEEK, HIZA HELD AN EMERGENCY SUMMIT IN LEXINGTON AND HAD OFFICIALS AT THE TRACK FOR OVERALL OBSERVATION AND EVALUATION OF THE RACING AND TRAINING SURFACES. THE AGENCY IS EXPECTED TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE BEST PATH FORWARD FOR THE RACETRACK. IT COULD INCLUDE TEMPORARILY STOPPING HORSE RACING, THOUGH IT IS UP TO CHURCHILL DOWNS TO ENFORCE THAT. AND AGAIN, THOSE SAFETY MEASURES THAT CHURCHILL DOWNS ANNOUNCED WENT INTO EFFECT IMMEDIATELY. BUT THOSE ADDITIONAL MEASURES THAT WE JUST SPOKE ABOUT AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS, YOU CAN FIND THAT FULL LIST AT WLKY DOT COM. AND OF COURSE, WE WANT TO MENTION THAT TRACK OFFICIALS DID BRING IN THEIR OWN DOCTOR TO EXAMINE THE TRACK AND THEY SAY NOTHING UNUSUAL WAS FOUND. NOW WE’RE TALKING ABOUT TWILIGHT THURSDAY. TONIGHT AND RACING IS STILL CONTINUING. AND YOU CAN WE WANT TO NOTE THAT THE LAST DAY OF THE SPRING MEET IS JULY 3RD. LIVE FROM CHURCHILL DOWNS FOR YOU THIS EVENING.
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HISA recommends additional safety measures following Churchill Downs announcement
Updated: 6:09 PM EDT Jun 1, 2023
Racing won't be paused at Churchill Downs, but the track did announce some new "safety initiatives" in response to a rash of recent horse deaths.Since the spring meet season began at the historic Louisville track, at least 12 horses have died.It has prompted calls for changes at the track and led to an emergency summit at the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority.HISA has been evaluating the situation since Tuesday. On Thursday, the track announced it'd be putting these things into practice: Restricting the number of starts per horse to four starts during a rolling eight-week period Enacting ineligibility standards for poor performance. Horses that are beaten by more than 12 lengths in five consecutive starts will be ineligible to race at Churchill Downs until approved by the Equine Medical Director to return.Pausing of track-based incentives such as trainer start bonuses and purse pay-out allocations to every race finisher through last place. Purse pay-outs will now be limited to the top five finishers. These will go into effect immediately.There is racing happening Thursday night, for Twilight Thursday. Races start at 5 p.m. HISA later made additional recommendations that would start on Saturday:HISA’s Director of Equine Safety and welfare will conduct an additional layer of post-entry screening. HISA’s rule 2142 (Assessment of Racing Soundness) requires post-entry screenings of previous pre-Race inspection findings of entered Horses to identify Horses that may be at increased risk for injury. The review includes past performances, lay-ups (more than 60 days without a timed Workout or Race), last 30 days' medical history, previous injury and lameness diagnostics, intraarticular corticosteroid injections, previous surgery and other individual Horse risk factors. HISA has directed the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU) to collect blood and hair samples for all fatalities involving Covered Horses. The results from such collections will be used to facilitate investigations into the cause of such fatalities. The data collected by HIWU in connection with Covered Horse fatalities will also be used to track relevant statistics and trends in connection with fatalities.HISA has appointed Dr. Alina Vale, an equine forensics specialist, to conduct an additional thorough review of all necropsies performed on Covered Horses. Dr. Vale has conducted several postmortem reviews as an official veterinarian for the California Horse Racing Board, including participating in the review following a spate of equine fatalities at Santa Anita in 2019.PETA has been trying to urge HISA and the track to suspend racing while the investigation into the deaths continues, and on Thursday, was spotted driving a truck around the track playing video of one of the horse injuries that led to death. It shows Lost in Limbo getting injured before being euthanized. Track officials also brought their own expert to examine the track and said that nothing unusual was found. However, this review is ongoing, and the conclusions will be shared publicly once it is complete."HISA continues to urgently seek additional answers to more clearly identify the causes of these recent fatalities as well as tangible interventions to prevent them in the future," HISA said in a news release. "All options remain on the table, and HISA will continue to vigilantly monitor events at Churchill Downs moving forward."
LOUISVILLE, Ky. —
Racing won't be paused at Churchill Downs, but the track did announce some new "safety initiatives" in response to a rash of recent horse deaths.
Since the spring meet season began at the historic Louisville track, at least 12 horses have died.
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It has prompted calls for changes at the track and led to an emergency summit at the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority.
HISA has been evaluating the situation since Tuesday. On Thursday, the track announced it'd be putting these things into practice:
- Restricting the number of starts per horse to four starts during a rolling eight-week period
- Enacting ineligibility standards for poor performance. Horses that are beaten by more than 12 lengths in five consecutive starts will be ineligible to race at Churchill Downs until approved by the Equine Medical Director to return.
- Pausing of track-based incentives such as trainer start bonuses and purse pay-out allocations to every race finisher through last place. Purse pay-outs will now be limited to the top five finishers.
These will go into effect immediately.
There is racing happening Thursday night, for Twilight Thursday. Races start at 5 p.m.
HISA later made additional recommendations that would start on Saturday:
- HISA’s Director of Equine Safety and welfare will conduct an additional layer of post-entry screening. HISA’s rule 2142 (Assessment of Racing Soundness) requires post-entry screenings of previous pre-Race inspection findings of entered Horses to identify Horses that may be at increased risk for injury. The review includes past performances, lay-ups (more than 60 days without a timed Workout or Race), last 30 days' medical history, previous injury and lameness diagnostics, intraarticular corticosteroid injections, previous surgery and other individual Horse risk factors.
- HISA has directed the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU) to collect blood and hair samples for all fatalities involving Covered Horses. The results from such collections will be used to facilitate investigations into the cause of such fatalities. The data collected by HIWU in connection with Covered Horse fatalities will also be used to track relevant statistics and trends in connection with fatalities.
- HISA has appointed Dr. Alina Vale, an equine forensics specialist, to conduct an additional thorough review of all necropsies performed on Covered Horses. Dr. Vale has conducted several postmortem reviews as an official veterinarian for the California Horse Racing Board, including participating in the review following a spate of equine fatalities at Santa Anita in 2019.
PETA has been trying to urge HISA and the track to suspend racing while the investigation into the deaths continues, and on Thursday, was spotted driving a truck around the track playing video of one of the horse injuries that led to death.
It shows Lost in Limbo getting injured before being euthanized.
Track officials also brought their own expert to examine the track and said that nothing unusual was found. However, this review is ongoing, and the conclusions will be shared publicly once it is complete.
"HISA continues to urgently seek additional answers to more clearly identify the causes of these recent fatalities as well as tangible interventions to prevent them in the future," HISA said in a news release. "All options remain on the table, and HISA will continue to vigilantly monitor events at Churchill Downs moving forward."