Fractured

Horse racing's catastrophic failure to put the safety and well-being of the horse first.

by: Kathryn Papp, DVM

Pictured: a condylar fracture of the canon bone involving the ankle joint, one if not the most common fracture in racing thoroughbreds. Though not catastrophic, unless torn apart, it heals well with screws and has no long term limitations.

Hillcrest Meadow Equine | Kathryn Papp, DVM,

To this day, the racing industry hangs on ferociously to the ever lurking, just plain unlucky “bad step” explanation for why a horse may incur a catastrophic breakdown. Even though this bad step theory has long been thoroughly disproven, horsemen, trainers and owners still constantly perpetuate this “excuse” in public interviews and private discussions. The problem is it is simply a fallacy, and one that needs to be immediately eradicated from the traditionally science-skeptic backside chatter, as well as from the media’s acceptance of it as an honest answer when coming from the mouths of trainers whose horses do suffer catastrophic injuries.

In 2018, according to the Jockey Club’s Equine Injury Database (EID), the North American average rate of catastrophic (aka resulting in death or humane euthanasia) injuries or “breakdowns” in racing Thoroughbreds was 1.68 per 1,000 starts. This equates, when also attempting to account for equine racing and training deaths that go unreported, to approximately 1,000-2,000 TB fatalities per year. Even more staggering is that, per each reported fatality, it is estimated that 17-29 non-fatal injuries simultaneously occur amongst the industry’s equine population. That is a large number of injured and deceased racehorses to account for.

Identifying 'at-risk' individuals and ensuring that those particular horses do not set foot on a racetrack until all veterinary evidence points to it being as safe as possible needs to be our primary focus going forward..."

Of all the types of catastrophic racing injuries that occur, the majority of these are bone fractures. The incidence of bone fractures in TBs involved in flat racing is about 1-2%. There is a very distinct and well-described physiology of equine bone damage and repair. When the ability of equine bone to repair or remodel itself is overwhelmed by the damage incurred, a fracture will undoubtedly occur. Unlike in our house-dwelling dogs and cats, a broken bone in a full-sized (approximately 1,200 pound) horse is often a death sentence.

The most common limb a racehorse is likely to suffer a fracture in is the left fore, closely followed by the right forelimb. This is because at least 65% of the horse’s weight is naturally distributed to and loaded on their front end. The most commonly fractured bone in the forelimb is the metacarpus (canon or shin bone), which is located between the carpus (knee) and the fetlock (ankle). The most commonly fractured bone resulting in a fatality is the proximal sesamoid bone, which most often results in irreparable fetlock (ankle) breakdown (a la Eight Belles).

We in the racing industry now know, based on detailed necropsy reports and statistical analysis, that 85-90% of fatal musculoskeletal injuries have definitive evidence of significant pre-existing damage at the site where the eventual fatal injury occurs. The most important takeaway from this information, when dissected down to the simplest fact, is that over 85% of racing equine deaths are potentially preventable. Now, that is a lot of lives that could be spared.

The veterinary community currently has readily accessible diagnostic equipment and capabilities we can offer horsemen in order to help identify and evaluate any sub-clinical damage at these common sites of bone fatigue and fracture. If veterinary professionals are able to detect these major risk factors for catastrophic breakdowns before they occur, we then also have the ability, and responsibility, to warn the horses’ connections of the real and present danger of continuing to race or train that horse, at least at that time or while continuing to use a particular training regimen. We, private racetrack veterinarians, will then have documented records and imaging with which we can appeal to regulatory veterinarians to keep closer watch on or to “flag” those particular horses so that their PPs and pre-race exam findings may be scrutinized a bit closer than perhaps other horses without similar risk factors.

In 2018, per the Jockey Club’s Equine Injury Database (EID), the North American average rate of catastrophic injuries in racing Thoroughbreds was 1.68 per 1,000 starts... that's approximately 1,000-2,000 TB fatalities per year."

The major question is, will trainers and owners be willing to allow their horses’ soundness to be scrutinized by private and regulatory veterinarians, and will they invest in the exams and imaging necessary to give them a realistic risk assessment that they just may not want to know about. After all, not every horse with this type of pre-existing bone damage will go on to suffer a catastrophic fracture, they will argue. And often in the face of disaster, as is the case of breakdowns in racing, it is easier for many to claim ignorance versus responsibility.

We, the racing industry, have the ability to improve the safety and welfare of our beloved equine athletes. Identifying “at-risk” individuals and ensuring that those particular horses do not set foot on a racetrack until all veterinary evidence points to it being as safe as possible needs to be our primary focus going forward, if we are to survive the public’s ongoing scrutiny. Doing this will in turn also decrease exercise rider and jockey injuries by a significant percentage and hopefully make the sport strong enough to ensure its future.

The last thing anyone wants to see while hanging with friends and enjoying an amazing day of top-class TB racing, is another blue tarp being put up as the equine ambulance scrambles to the site of the latest preventable tragedy. It is in our power – veterinarians, horsemen, trainers and owners – to prevent catastrophe from striking. But we must take responsibility and act now.

Dr. Kathryn Papp attended Guelph University’s Ontario Veterinary College and graduated in 2008 as a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. She owns Hillcrest Meadow Equine in Harrisburg, PA, and is the co-founder of PA Racehorse Rehoming, Rehabilitation, and Rescue (PARR), a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Visit www.paracehorse.org to learn more.