In a sport where races are won and lost by fractions of a second, subtle problems can have a significant impact on performance. Here’s what veterinarians look for when racehorses aren’t performing at their best.
For the first time in Kentucky Derby history, a winner was demoted for an infraction committed during the running of the race. Stewards disqualified front-runner Maximum Security for causing interference and awarded 65-1 longshot Country House victory.
Track ponies, or pony horses, play important roles both on training and race days.
A variety of initiatives on racing surfaces, race-day scrutiny, and more are in place at all three NYRA tracks—Aqueduct Racetrack, Belmont Park, and Saratoga Race Course.
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.
Initiatives include building an equine medical center and quarantine facility on the Louisville, Kentucky, racetrack’s backside, hiring an equine medical director, and more.
Beginning Jan. 1, 2020, 2-year-olds would be prohibited from receiving furosemide within 24 hours of a race at coalition tracks. Beginning in 2021, the same prohibition would extend to all horses participating in any stakes race.
Corrine Sweeney, DVM, is one of the authors of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine’s 2014 consensus statement on exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage in horses.
Recommendations include avoiding using bisphosphonates in manners inconsistent with indications of use on the label and discontinuing bisphosphonates use in any horses in training regardless of age, having every jurisdiction employ a full-time equine medical director, and more.
Bisphosphonates are FDA-approved for controlling clinical signs associated with navicular syndrome in horses ages 4 and older. Some veterinarians use them off-label to treat other equine bone issues. But could this off-label use be detrimental? One equine veterinarian recently gave a rundown on what research says.
Complete veterinary-record transparency, strict limitations on pain-relieving and/or anti-inflammatory medication/treatment, and banning therapeutic medications or treatments without a qualified veterinary diagnosis from a state-licensed veterinarian are among the agreed-upon initiatives.
Learn about the current challenges of medication regulation and drug testing in the race and sport horse industries.
Finding the cause of 21 equine fatalities at Santa Anita Park, in Arcadia, California, is key to the future of not only the venue but also the horse racing industry in general, says a Kentucky-based scientist investigating the incidents.
On March 5 officials announced that racing and training would be canceled indefinitely so the main track surface can undergo additional extensive testing and analysis.
The conference, scheduled for March 4-5 at Gulfstream Park, will focus on medication, pharmacology, and medication regulation in horse racing.
Saturday’s richly endowed Pegasus World Cup Invitational races at Gulfstream Park showcased winners at contrasting stages of their careers. City of Light romped in his swan song in the $9 million Pegasus World Cup in the slop, while Bricks and Mortar is just getting started after capturing the inaugural Pegasus World Cup Turf worth $6,708,329.
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