The choice of track surfaces during a racehorse’s training could affect his chances of getting seriously injured on race day itself. | Photo: iStock

Catastrophic injuries on race day might be, in part, a consequence of the kind of track the horses run on. But, Australian researchers have learned, the track used during the race might not be the only culprit: The choice of track surfaces during a racehorse’s training could affect his chances of getting seriously injured on race day itself.

That’s because catastrophic injury probably isn’t just the result of an incident at a single moment on race day but rather caused by “accumulated damage over time,” said Ashleigh V. Morrice-West, DVM, of the University of Melbourne Veterinary School’s U-Vet Equine Centre, in Werribee, Victoria, Australia.

“We speculate that not having exposure to surfaces raced on prior to a race-start may increase the risk of injury,” Morrice-West said