Also have to laugh at how they name-dropped HISA "we'll work with them"... a week after HISA was delayed so as to not affect the TC.  Talking out both sides of their mouth.

We all knew that CD track was bad.  I've never been to Laurel so I can't comment on it, but CD looks as bad as Laurel in the public eye.  And as much as the optics being bad with 2 horses dying on the track but not due to breakdowns, yeah, it sure looks like Saffie was scapegoated.  As if Saffie is the guy who orders the maintenance team to scrape and roll the track hard.  (He isn't).  I won't speculate on what they'll find out is wrong with his stable [the part about meds found in his barn is just rumor at this point].

Let's assume nothing was wrong with Lord Miles as he was "guilty by association" and nothing else.  So that's 4 horses out of 23 original entrants scratched due to illness or lameness.   And these are supposed to be the best of this year's crop, the most fit 3-year-olds at time of entry?  Something's up and it can't be Saffie's fault, not even close. They all went bad after less than a week on the grounds?  You don't usually get that many scratches out of a race unless it's a turf race taken off during a torrential downpour and most of the field can't handle mud.

Isn't most of the breakdown Deaths on days when the track isn't scraped and rolled hard and do you

know any Data on those death days if they had raced on days when it was rolled and hard  and the 

new chute and that bend they made wider this year. I haven't followed it like you and can't remember

everything that information director they talk to every year , maybe Rogers, was bragging about the changes

they made could be part of the problem.

I don't recall the chute (or any other part of the track) widened at all. Still the same configuration it's been for years (otherwise Secretariat's track record would be "locked in" and new records recorded...)

Also wouldn't know when they'd roll the track hard if not Oaks day.  Given they ran stakes all week, maybe as early as Tuesday?

Horses can be fit and still come up ill.  Practical Move and Skinner could have gotten ill through travel?  Hard to know, wonder about Reincarnate too.

Forte sounds like it was weird step or stone, sustained a bruise.....and Continuar seems to have not acclimated after his travel.

Don't really think it's a statement on the crop. 

In order for real reform to place in US racing the powers-that-be will need to decide to bite the bullet and undergo some pain to get to the other side - a squeaky clean sport.  The NHPBA resistance and outright obstruction to HISA/HIWU is a perfect example.  

The problem is, they fear losing handle more than losing the social license to continue to operate the sport.

The fiasco at Churchill this past week is an example of the end game when you only have band-aids while patient is bleeding out.  The suits have their eyes on the dollars while the general public has it eyes on the carnage.  It's ludicrous to suggest Saffie Joseph being rendered void solves the problem - the core problem of corruption in the sport.  That's whether he's guilty of something nefarious or just the latest scapegoat to create appearance of "doing something".

In my opinion, the sport will be reinvigorated if the powers-that-be can even agree to put the horses safety and welfare above all.  Not just lip service like CDI just served up and what Belinda and her team served up at Laurel.

princeofdoc said...

Horses can be fit and still come up ill.  Practical Move and Skinner could have gotten ill through travel?  Hard to know, wonder about Reincarnate too.

Forte sounds like it was weird step or stone, sustained a bruise.....and Continuar seems to have not acclimated after his travel.

Don't really think it's a statement on the crop. 

Sort of the reasons I would never take my new puppy to a "dog park".    I have learned over the years from my veterinarians just how much of a risk it is.   I would set up a play group with KNOWN temperments and KNOWN (well cared for) dogs and find a field somewhere. 

Plus the facilities at most US tracks, as has been pointed out, is not exactly luxurious.   Horses like Derma and Continuar probably thought they were "slumming it" compared to the kind of accomodations they are used to where they hail from  

May 14th, CD,  Rio Moon, a Dale Roman's horse, suffered a fatal injury on the gallop out and had to be euthanized. 

https://www.equibase.com/static/chart/pdf/CD051423USA6.pdf

And it gets worse. What happens when you run horses over what's essentially a dirt road that would be perfect for USAC or World of Outlaws sprint cars... 
Don't think they can continue to scapegoat Saffie for these.
As I've said in other posts - we all know the answer is Tapeta, Churchill knows the answer is Tapeta, but they'll never switch to it.  I put  in italics, parts of the press release referring to this. Until they switch to Tapeta, all that is lying through their teeth as they always have.
 

CHURCHILL DOWNS INCORPORATED STATEMENT

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Saturday, May 27, 2023) – In today’s first race, Kimberley Dream sustained a significant injury – a distal sesamodean ligament rupture – to her left front leg. A similar injury occurred to Lost in Limbo during Friday’s seventh race. Unfortunately, in both scenarios, attending veterinarians determined that the injuries were inoperable and unrecoverable and made the difficult but most humane decision to euthanize. We send our deepest and most sincere condolences to the connections and all who loved and cared for Kimberley Dream and Lost in Limbo.

There have been 12 equine fatalities at Churchill Downs since the stable area reopened for training on March 30. It is with absolute dismay and sorrow that we report this highly unusual statistic. Our team members mourn the loss of these animals as we continue to work together to discover cause and determine appropriate investments to minimize, to the degree possible, any avoidable risk in this sport and on our property. We do not accept this as suitable or tolerable and share the frustrations of the public, and in some cases, the questions to which we do not yet have answers. We have been rigorously working since the opening of the meet to understand what has led to this spike and have yet to find a conclusive discernable pattern as we await the findings of ongoing investigations into those injuries and fatalities.     

As with any matter under investigation, justice or answers are not always swift, but the commitment to being thorough is incredibly important. We understand the justified desire for answers, yet also respect the process and authority of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) and the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) when managing these important investigations. We are actively working in cooperation with these regulatory authorities and share their goal to improve the safety of this sport.

In recent weeks, we have been focused on our responsibility to provide the safest racing environment possible on our property. Part of that effort has included increasing the frequency with which our surfaces are tested. Earlier this week, Churchill Downs commissioned Dr. Mick Peterson, Executive Director of Racing Surfaces Testing Laboratory and Professor of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering at the University of Kentucky, to perform additional diagnostics on our racetrack. The report indicated that the measurements from retesting do not raise any concerns and that none of the data is inconsistent with prior measurements from Churchill Downs or other tracks.

We simply will not allow these equine fatalities to be in vain. We are engaged in an epidemiological study with the Jockey Club to review each individual horse to determine if there are any undetected patterns that have not been previously identified. These findings can be incorporated into our daily review of entries and potentially trigger additional interventions using advanced diagnostic modalities.

Additionally, we have worked to uncover ways to invest in research and resources that may be made available to trainers, so that together we can better detect pre-existing injuries and work to avoid catastrophic injuries in racing. We have made promising progress in determining ways to increase the use of technology to better inform and intervene when abnormalities in horses present and are eager to share these announcements with horsemen and the public in the coming days. This is in addition to mining and enhancing our already comprehensive safety protocols and policies (Churchill Downs "Safety from Start to Finish"), all developed over the years to improve upon every opportunity we have to advocate in the best interest of our equine and human athletes.

We are troubled by this recent string of fatalities. It is extremely inconsistent with the outcomes we have experienced over the years, with the reputation we have developed over the decades and with the expectations we set for ourselves and owe our fans. We are committed to doing this important work and updating the public with our developments.

And now PETA (or similar) chimes in, as they did when Laurel was having issues...

Animal Wellness Action Calls for a Temporary Shutdown 

of Live Racing at Churchill Downs 

The publicly traded company can continue with simulcasting to maintain a revenue stream while it pauses and probes why so many horses are dying at its track

(Louisville) —Today, declaring that the “show must not go on with so many of athletes dying on the field of play,” Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy called on Churchill Downs to take an indefinite pause with its live-racing schedule until it can return to competition without more young, fit horses dying on the track.

The call for a temporary racing suspension comes after the unnerving and unacceptable drumbeat of horse deaths on the track there since racing resumed just weeks ago. At its major racing venue, Churchill Downs has been the stage for 12 horse deaths in a month’s time.

That rate of loss is higher than the rash of deaths at Santa Anita Park in 2019, when 42 horses died on the track, observed Animal Wellness Action.

“The current rate of loss of young, healthy, physically fit horses is not even close to acceptable, and Churchill Downs acknowledges that,” said Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action and the Center. “If the track keeps doing the same thing, it can expect the same result. The show cannot just go on, and the leadership of the track should hit the pause button for the well-being of the horses and of the industry itself.”

The shutdown of activities at Churchill Downs would apply only to live racing, not simulcasting of other races from tracks that have not experienced a surge in horse fatalities.

Recently, Animal Wellness Action called on leaders in the racing industry, and the new Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA), to embrace the goal of “no young, healthy horses dying on tracks in training or competition,” with the new Authority to suspend trainers who put horses into competition and do not get off the track alive. Yesterday, the Authority and Churchill leaders announced a summit to examine the spate of horse deaths, with the new oversight body saying it is "deeply concerned by the unusually high number of equine fatalities at Churchill Downs over the last several weeks … .”

The sport’s new national governing body began implementation of a national race-day antidoping regulatory plan this month. That plan will bring long-needed uniformity to a patchwork system of regulatory control built around the work of 38 distinct state horse racing commissions. The Authority also has broad power to institute changes to improve horse safety at Thoroughbred tracks.

“As a Louisville resident, I value that Churchill Downs does immense things for our community,” said Joseph Grove, director of communications for Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy. “I’m pleased that track executives are taking some meaningful steps to triage the tragedies, but the only way to ensure no more horse deaths there until the investigations are complete is to suspend racing until causes are better understood.”

Congress has provided a mandate for protecting horses in American racing in enacting the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act. Horse safety at the tracks should become the top priority for everyone involved in the business.

Animal Wellness Action has also called for a ban on the use of the whip in American racing, with its use perhaps pushing horses to run too hard and putting them at risk.

“If they keep running horses, Churchill Downs and the Authority are flying blind,” added Pacelle. “There are no easy answers or simple fixes, but the key stakeholders must look for causes in early-age racing, track surfaces, breeding of horses for speed rather than soundness, illegal doping, and insufficient screening of unfit horses slated for competition.”

TexSquared said:

“If they keep running horses, Churchill Downs and the Authority are flying blind,” added Pacelle. “There are no easy answers or simple fixes, but the key stakeholders must look for causes in early-age racing, track surfaces, breeding of horses for speed rather than soundness, illegal doping, and insufficient screening of unfit horses slated for competition.”

Here's where this outfit betrays their true purpose - to shut down racing until the whole laundry list mentioned above is addressed.  That's like asking for a permanent shutdown, IMO.

However, I think it would be very smart for CDI to suspend racing only while the track itself is under analysis.  if it is deemed safe, even after some needed work, then resume.  

The other points made by the wellness people will take months and months to resolve.  It took decades to get to this point.  We don't get a free pass to perfect racing overnight.  Even those of us who are hardline safety and welfare people understand that.

The wellness deal is too extreme.