Commentary: Racing Surfaces: Risks and Research

Drs. Mick Peterson and Wayne McIlwraith weigh in on what we’ve learned about racing surface safety, issues currently at hand, and what the future could bring.
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racing surfaces
While the development of an optimal racing surface remains elusive, the last 20 years have seen considerable progress. | Photo: Anne M. Eberhardt/The Horse

By Mick Peterson, PhD, executive director of the Racing Surfaces Testing Laboratory, director of the University of Kentucky (UK) Ag Equine Programs, and professor of biosystems and agricultural engineering at UK; and C. Wayne McIlwraith, BVSc, PhD, DSc, FRCVS, Dipl. ACVS, an equine orthopedic surgeon and a University Distinguished Professor and Barbara Cox Anthony University Chair in Orthopaedics at Colorado State University (CSU)

While the development of an optimal racing surface remains elusive, the past 20 years have seen considerable progress. On the topic of racing surfaces, we have during this time published 14 studies in refereed journals, advised two PhD dissertations and four master’s theses, and, whenever possible, put these ideas into practice. The challenge remains; we must reduce the inconsistency of racing surfaces in a range of climates and weather.

This somewhat eclectic mixture of an engineer and an equine orthopedic surgeon first got together at CSU in 1998. We started with the biological question of cyclic trauma and bone microdamage leading to fracture (characterized by Dr. Chris Kawcak in his PhD work at CSU) and then started on the best engineering approach. Our first study examined the possible effects of different dirt racetrack surfaces by using dynamic modeling of the horse and track to quantify the vertical loading of the lower limb, which was published in 2000.

With the support of AQHA (American Quarter Horse Association) Racing, we then developed a biomechanical test machine to replicate the loads and speeds of a Thoroughbred forelimb at the gallop. This machine was used to evaluate hoof track interface in racehorses as well as the effects of track maintenance on mechanical properties at Hollywood Park, Santa Anita, and Del Mar, all in California. Like many studies, this effort raised more questions than it answered. However, we quickly moved from understanding to trying to reduce the inconsistency we observed

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