A necropsy report presented to the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) Aug. 27 at Del Mar tends to support trainers who complain that synthetic tracks lead to more hind limb injuries.

In 2008, 19 Thoroughbreds from a total of 111 that died on synthetic tracks in the state succumbed to catastrophic hind limb injuries, according to a preliminary CHRB/University of California-Davis report.

That compared to just one death as the result of a hind limb injury among 65 Thoroughbreds that succumbed during racing or training on dirt tracks during the same period, according to the report. Hailu Kinde, DVM, MPVM, who has been with the post-mortem program at UC-Davis since 1991, presented the figures to the board.

“This actually confirms that there are additional hind-end injuries on synthetic surfaces, which is what trainers have been telling us,” said Rick Arthur, DVM, the CHRB’s equine medical director