The Kentucky Thoroughbred Association and Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association are jointly funding a $25,000 grant directed to a catastrophic injury study conducted at the University of Kentucky Gluck Equine Research Center.
The study will seek to identify horses at risk for catastrophic injury through the use of mRNA expression analysis of blood samples. Drs. Allen Page, Emma Adam and David Horohov of the Gluck Center previously developed an approach for identifying horses at risk for catastrophic injury through the use of mRNA expression analysis of blood samples.
It was recently demonstrated that horses with catastrophic injuries have significantly altered expression of IGF-1, IL1RN, and MMP2 when compared to non-injured control horses. Based on all the data and research to date, it is believed that Thoroughbreds which experience a catastrophic injury during racing will demonstrate multiple pre-race differences in mRNA expression when compared with non-injured, race-matched control horses.
“Allen's research should provide our Thoroughbred racehorse owners and their trainers and veterinarians a critical and valuable diagnostic tool in ensuring the health of their horses,” said Chauncey Morris, executive director of the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association. “Collective industry research on novel scientific methods looking for internal and external variables in order to reduce catastrophic injury is a step in the right direction.”
“TOBA and KTA are both committed to the health and safety of our Thoroughbred athletes, and we are encouraged by the progress being made by Dr. Page and his colleagues,” said Dan Metzger, president of TOBA. “If successful, the CI Study will have a lasting and far-reaching influence on our sport.”
The Kentucky Thoroughbred Association and Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners & Breeders, Inc. are a horseman's group and a trade association representing Thoroughbred breeding and racing in Kentucky. Kentucky is the biggest producer of Thoroughbred foals in the world, responsible for 38% of the US foal crop, the largest concentration of stallions, veterinary practices and breeding farms, and is home to the largest yearling and breeding stock sales, premier race meetings at Keeneland, Kentucky Downs and the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, and year-round racing at Turfway Park and Ellis Park.
The Thoroughbred Owners & Breeders Association (TOBA), based in Lexington, Ky., was formed in 1961 and is a national trade organization of leading Thoroughbred owners and breeders. TOBA's mission is to improve the economics, integrity and pleasure of the sport on behalf of Thoroughbred owners and breeders. Projects managed by TOBA include the American Graded Stakes Committee, Claiming Crown, Ownership Seminars, Breeding, Conformation & Pedigree Clinics, US-Bred, TOBA Owners Concierge, OwnerView and the Sales Integrity Program. TOBA provides international representation for U.S. owners and breeders on the International Grading and Race Planning Advisory Committee, International Cataloguing Standards Committee and International Thoroughbred Breeders Federation. Thoroughbred Charities of America (TCA) is the charitable arm of TOBA. TOBA Media Properties, a subsidiary of TOBA, is the co owner of BloodHorse LLC. TOBA is represented on the board of directors of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association and the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium as founding members.
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