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Some say they're no safer than dirt. Study shows lower horse fatality rate
By Joe Drape
New York Times
Published on Saturday, Nov 07, 2009
ARCADIA, CALIF.: The number of thoroughbreds in California who had fatal breakdowns has fallen by 40 percent since the state switched from dirt to synthetic surfaces, according to a study compiled by state regulators. But no matter how dramatic this decline, skepticism persists among some horsemen, who contend the all-weather surfaces have only created a new set of injuries and are no safer than traditional dirt tracks.
The California numbers suggest otherwise. Since 2006, when Hollywood Park installed the first artificial oval, to September of this year, the fatality rate has fallen to 1.70 per 1,000 starts, from 3.09 per 1,000 on dirt. At Santa Anita Park, where the Breeders' Cup World Championships will be held for the second consecutive year, fatalities fell to 1.59 per 1,000 starts, from 2.89.
''It is what it is, which is a pretty dramatic fall-off, contrary to what some trainers think,'' said Dr. Rick Arthur, equine medical director for the California Horse Racing Board. ''When racehorses are at their best, I am absolutely convinced that they are safer on the synthetics than they are dirt.''
Arthur warned that synthetic surfaces were not a cure-all for saving horses' lives, and cited several factors that have contributed to the fact that the United States has the worst mortality rate for thoroughbreds in the world. In fact, one aspect of the study supported a growing sentiment in the veterinary community that the overuse of legal and illegal medications has imperiled the welfare of racehorses: the fatality rates did not decrease during training hours.
''There are no medication regulations in the mornings,'' Arthur said.
Mary Scollay, the equine medical director for the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, who is conducting fatality research for the Jockey Club, said California's methodology for collecting the data was rigorous and the numbers were comprehensive. California has been performing necropsies on horses who have died on its racetracks since 1992.
''It's as good a before-and-after picture of the dirt and synthetic questions as we have,'' said Scollay, who has collected breakdown data from dirt and synthetic tracks from across the country over the last year, and will send the information to epidemiologists to parse for a variety of factors that she hopes will give a more definitive insight into the catastrophic injuries that thoroughbreds sustain.
No one expects the numbers from the California study, or from the forthcoming one from the Jockey Club, to quell the debate. Breeders' Cup organizers have tried to stay out of the fray.
''Our main concerns are the safety of our athletes, human and equine, and the integrity of our competition,'' said Greg Avioli, the Breeders' Cup president and chief executive. ''Over 150 horses competed safely at Santa Anita in last year's event. Any Breeders' Cup host site has to have a safe consistent surface, whether it is synthetic or dirt.''
Jess Jackson, the owner of the filly Rachel Alexandra, declined to run in the Breeders' Cup because he dislikes artificial surfaces and says it causes soft-tissue injuries. Chip Woolley, the trainer of Kentucky Derby champion Mine That Bird, has railed against the surface since arriving here last month to prep his gelding for the Goodwood Stakes. Charles Hayward, president and chief executive of the New York Racing Association, has declared that his agency has no intention of switching from dirt to an artificial surface at Belmont, Saratoga or Aqueduct.
Hall of fame trainer Richard Mandella considers the new surfaces safer, but he says he will not even discuss the subject with his colleagues. Another hall of famer, Bob Baffert, and John Shirreffs, the trainer of the classic favorite Zenyatta, are among the many outspoken critics of the surface.
''It's like gun rights,'' Mandella said. ''You have people deeply opposed on either side and no conversation is going to change minds.''
Still, Mandella sees more upside in the new surfaces than he does in dirt tracks. He says the maintenance of the track has gotten better as the trackmen have learned how to make it consistent.
''We've run on dirt for centuries, and the window of opportunity of making dirt safer closed a long time ago,'' Mandella said. ''We have only had these tracks a couple of years, and we're figuring out how to maintain them properly. We have no place but up to go.''
In fact, California mandated the transformation from dirt to artificial surfaces after the number of fatal breakdowns increased 40 percent from 2003 to 2006.
In Europe and other parts of the world where racing is conducted less often, mainly on turf and under more stringent medication rules, deaths of racehorses are far less frequent. In England, for example, the average risk of fatality is much lower, from 0.8 to 0.9 per 1,000 starts. In Victoria, Australia, studies have reported the risk of fatality from 1989 to 2004 at 0.44 per 1,000 starts.
In the United States, Scollay said, racehorse fatalities have occurred at the rate of 1.47 per 1,000 starts for synthetic surfaces and 2.03 for dirt tracks.
''We have a lot of studying to do and a lot of improvements to make in many areas to protect these horses,'' Arthur said. ''But I think it's pretty clear some people have unfairly and incorrectly blamed synthetic tracks for their problems.''
ARCADIA, CALIF.: The number of thoroughbreds in California who had fatal breakdowns has fallen by 40 percent since the state switched from dirt to synthetic surfaces, according to a study compiled by state regulators. But no matter how dramatic this decline, skepticism persists among some horsemen, who contend the all-weather surfaces have only created a new set of injuries and are no safer than traditional dirt tracks.
The California numbers suggest otherwise. Since 2006, when Hollywood Park installed the first artificial oval, to September of this year, the fatality rate has fallen to 1.70 per 1,000 starts, from 3.09 per 1,000 on dirt. At Santa Anita Park, where the Breeders' Cup World Championships will be held for the second consecutive year, fatalities fell to 1.59 per 1,000 starts, from 2.89.
''It is what it is, which is a pretty dramatic fall-off, contrary to what some trainers think,'' said Dr. Rick Arthur, equine medical director for the California Horse Racing Board. ''When racehorses are at their best, I am absolutely convinced that they are safer on the synthetics than they are dirt.''
Arthur warned that synthetic surfaces were not a cure-all for saving horses' lives, and cited several factors that have contributed to the fact that the United States has the worst mortality rate for thoroughbreds in the world. In fact, one aspect of the study supported a growing sentiment in the veterinary community that the overuse of legal and illegal medications has imperiled the welfare of racehorses: the fatality rates did not decrease during training hours.
''There are no medication regulations in the mornings,'' Arthur said.
Mary Scollay, the equine medical director for the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, who is conducting fatality research for the Jockey Club, said California's methodology for collecting the data was rigorous and the numbers were comprehensive. California has been performing necropsies on horses who have died on its racetracks since 1992.
''It's as good a before-and-after picture of the dirt and synthetic questions as we have,'' said Scollay, who has collected breakdown data from dirt and synthetic tracks from across the country over the last year, and will send the information to epidemiologists to parse for a variety of factors that she hopes will give a more definitive insight into the catastrophic injuries that thoroughbreds sustain.
No one expects the numbers from the California study, or from the forthcoming one from the Jockey Club, to quell the debate. Breeders' Cup organizers have tried to stay out of the fray.
''Our main concerns are the safety of our athletes, human and equine, and the integrity of our competition,'' said Greg Avioli, the Breeders' Cup president and chief executive. ''Over 150 horses competed safely at Santa Anita in last year's event. Any Breeders' Cup host site has to have a safe consistent surface, whether it is synthetic or dirt.''
Jess Jackson, the owner of the filly Rachel Alexandra, declined to run in the Breeders' Cup because he dislikes artificial surfaces and says it causes soft-tissue injuries. Chip Woolley, the trainer of Kentucky Derby champion Mine That Bird, has railed against the surface since arriving here last month to prep his gelding for the Goodwood Stakes. Charles Hayward, president and chief executive of the New York Racing Association, has declared that his agency has no intention of switching from dirt to an artificial surface at Belmont, Saratoga or Aqueduct.
Hall of fame trainer Richard Mandella considers the new surfaces safer, but he says he will not even discuss the subject with his colleagues. Another hall of famer, Bob Baffert, and John Shirreffs, the trainer of the classic favorite Zenyatta, are among the many outspoken critics of the surface.
''It's like gun rights,'' Mandella said. ''You have people deeply opposed on either side and no conversation is going to change minds.''
Still, Mandella sees more upside in the new surfaces than he does in dirt tracks. He says the maintenance of the track has gotten better as the trackmen have learned how to make it consistent.
''We've run on dirt for centuries, and the window of opportunity of making dirt safer closed a long time ago,'' Mandella said. ''We have only had these tracks a couple of years, and we're figuring out how to maintain them properly. We have no place but up to go.''
In fact, California mandated the transformation from dirt to artificial surfaces after the number of fatal breakdowns increased 40 percent from 2003 to 2006.
In Europe and other parts of the world where racing is conducted less often, mainly on turf and under more stringent medication rules, deaths of racehorses are far less frequent. In England, for example, the average risk of fatality is much lower, from 0.8 to 0.9 per 1,000 starts. In Victoria, Australia, studies have reported the risk of fatality from 1989 to 2004 at 0.44 per 1,000 starts.
In the United States, Scollay said, racehorse fatalities have occurred at the rate of 1.47 per 1,000 starts for synthetic surfaces and 2.03 for dirt tracks.
''We have a lot of studying to do and a lot of improvements to make in many areas to protect these horses,'' Arthur said. ''But I think it's pretty clear some people have unfairly and incorrectly blamed synthetic tracks for their problems.''
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