JC / Railbird

Jockey Club

2.04 per 1000

On first reading, I thought there was an error in the headline of the press release: “Equine Injury Database Statistic Released by The Jockey Club.” But no, the Jockey Club did release just one statistic, and it is a sobering figure:

Based upon a year’s worth of data beginning November 1, 2008, from 378,864 total starts in Thoroughbred flat races at 73 racetracks … 2.04 fatal injuries were recorded per 1,000 starts.

TJC did not report the actual number of deaths, but the Courier-Journal did the math, coming up with:

… about 773 horse deaths, or an average of nearly 15 fatal injuries a week.

For comparison, the New York Times offers:

In England, for example, the average risk of fatality ranges from 0.8 to 0.9 per 1,000 starts. In Victoria, Australia, studies reported the risk of fatality from 1989 to 2004 at 0.44 per 1,000 starts.

More detailed data, although not track-by-track stats, will be released at the Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit in June.

Posted in Racing on March 24, 2010 / Tagged Data, Equine Injury Database, Fatalities, Injuries, Jockey Club, Research

The Trouble With Racing

Speculation, allegations, rumor, and hearsay from Jim Squires in his new book, “Headless Horsemen,” reviewed by Ray Kerrison in the Wall Street Journal:

Mr Squires believes steroids were first used in ­racing in the 1950s. He makes some startling claims about earlier horse-racing champions. He alleges that 1973 Triple Crown winner Secretariat may have raced on steroids. “There are oldtimers who insist that even the magnificent physical stature of the great ­Secretariat was not all genetic and his early problem settling mares” — that is, breeding — “may have been a by-product of steroids.”

The allegations continue. Mr. Squires writes: ­“Denigrators of the late Frank Whiteley [1915-2008], the surly magician who trained Damascus and Ruffian, ­sincerely believe that his magic came from sniffs of ­cocaine and say they know people who say they saw Whiteley coming out of the stalls brushing the white dust off his hands.”

Fascinating stuff, as I expect Squires’ commentary on the industry power structure to be when I begin reading the book. More to come …

Posted in Industry on July 28, 2009 / Tagged Books, Drugs, Headless Horsemen, Jim Squires, Jockey Club, Power and Policy, Steroids