Researchers are examining inflammatory and anti-inflammatory markers' efficacy as early indicators for potential catastrophic injuries in racehorses. | Photo: Matt Barton/UK Ag Communications

The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) recently voted unanimously to fund a project at the University of Kentucky (UK) Maxwell H. Gluck Equine Research Center examining inflammatory and anti-inflammatory markers as early indicators for potential catastrophic injuries in racehorses.

The occurrence of racehorse and jockey injuries during training and racing is a significant economic and welfare concern for the Thoroughbred industry. While there has been increased interest in the development of techniques to identify individual horses at risk for injury, these approaches have not been widely adopted.

“We have a method to detect inflammation in horses and are proposing to determine its utility in the early detection of impending catastrophic injuries in racehorses,” said Allen Page, DVM, PhD, principal investigator and scientist/veterinarian at the Gluck Equine Research Center