Horse racing-Churchill Downs announces measures to improve horse safety (updated)

Churchill Downs

01/06/2023 23:12

(Adds HISA statement, details)
       June 1 (Reuters) - Churchill Downs Racetrack unveiled a
number of safety initiatives and precautionary measures on
Thursday following a recent series of horse deaths at the home
of the Kentucky Derby.
    Effective immediately, there will be a pause on 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.
    Churchill Downs also announced ineligibility standards for
poor performance, meaning horses that are beaten by more than 12
lengths in five consecutive starts will be ineligible to race at
the track until cleared by the equine medical director.
    In addition, the number of starts per horse during a rolling
eight-week period will be restricted to four.
    The changes were announced two days after an emergency
summit called by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority
(HISA) was held in Kentucky.
    At the summit, the Churchill Downs, Kentucky Horse Racing
Commission and HISA veterinary teams reviewed all veterinary
information available in the hope of better understanding the
events surrounding the recent fatalities.
    HISA welcomed the efforts announced by Churchill Downs and
is implementing additional measures, including post-entry
screening of previous pre-race inspection findings of entered
horses to identify ones that may be at greater risk of injury.
        HISA also said an analysis of Churchill Downs' racing
and training surfaces by a seasoned track superintendent is
ongoing and conclusions will be shared once the review 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 statement. 
  
        "All options remain on the table, and HISA will continue
to vigilantly monitor events at Churchill Downs moving forward."
  
        Since the Churchill Downs stable reopened for training
on March 30, there have been 12 equine fatalities at Churchill
Downs, which the racetrack previously described as a "highly
unusual statistic."
    While this year's Kentucky Derby, which is the first leg of
U.S. thoroughbred racing's Triple Crown, went ahead as planned
last month it was overshadowed by horse deaths at the track and
multiple others were scratched from the race due to injury.

 (Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Ken Ferris)
 ((frank.pingue@thomsonreuters.com; +1-647-480-7636; Reuters
Messaging: frank.pingue.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))