Lisa Lazarus, CEO of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, told the New York Times this week that the authority is planning to adopt California's rule which bans intra-articular corticosteroid injections in the fetlock joint within 30 days of a race.
The news comes on the heels of a spate of dramatic fatal injuries at New York's Saratoga racetrack, two of which occurred in Grade 1 races before a national television audience. The most recent was New York Thunder in the G1 H. Allen Jerkens.
Entering with four wins from as many career starts, including the Amsterdam (G2) July 29 at the Spa in his most recent start, New York Thunder was the 7-5 favorite. The colt appeared en route to a clear victory but fell near the sixteenths pole, suffering a catastrophic injury to his left front fetlock that led to his euthanasia on the track.
New York Thunder is the third horse under the care of trainer Jorge Delgado to die since July 27, reports the Times.
The son of Nyquist spent two weeks on the vet's list in Kentucky earlier this spring, ran once on synthetic at Woodbine on April 30, winning easily, and was then scratched from the Woody Stephens on the Belmont Stakes undercard due to an unspecified injury.
On July 14, an intra-articular injection put New York Thunder on the vet's list for two more weeks. Fifteen days later, the colt won the Amsterdam by 7 1/2 lengths.
The 14-day regulation between a joint injection and a race is controlled by HISA, which took over anti-doping and medication rules in the sport on May 22. Prior to that date, the state of California's 30-day rule for steroidal fetlock injections was in place.
Prior to California's rule being implemented, the state saw 83 catastrophic injuries to fetlock joints in 20 months. After the rule, there were 24 over the following 19 months.
“Fourteen days is a step backward,” California Horse Racing Board chairman Dr. Greg Ferraro told The Times. “If you put any athlete in significant training, the health of joint disintegrates, you can't slow it down, but you can speed it up by putting corticosteroid in the fetlock. You inject to run. That culture needs to be eliminated.”
Read more at the New York Times.
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