As the horse racing world is still reeling from a cluster of horse deaths at Churchill Downs during Kentucky Derby week, officials at Pimlico have added a new layer of veterinary oversight for runners racing there this weekend.
Officials began taking out-of-competition samples from likely Preakness and Black-Eyed Susan Stakes starters roughly two weeks ago. All graded stakes entrants will also undergo pre-race TCO2 testing and officials have clearance to do pre-race competition sampling at any time for any entries on the Friday and Saturday cards. Pre-race samples may check for violations of the track's policy on therapeutic medications, which bans corticosteroid joint injections within 14 days of racing, non-steroidal anti-inflammatories within 48 hours of racing, and any medication within 24 hours of post time.
Additionally, Dr. Dionne Benson, chief veterinary officer for The Stronach Group, said that all runners on the Friday and Saturday cards must get two veterinary authorizations before they run — one is an authorization from the trainer's private veterinarian, certifying the horse is safe to race, which is required of all runners in California and Kentucky, and the other is clearance from the regulatory veterinarian in the state where they were stabled prior to shipping in to Pimlico.
“We've had cooperation from our vets in California, vets in New York and Kentucky, basically anywhere these horses come from, we've had someone go out and examine them and jog them and ensure they're racing sound before they even make it to Maryland,” said Benson.
Horses in the Preakness, Black-Eyed Susan, and the UAE President Cup are observed by veterinarians during morning track work and will be examined by state veterinarians between three and four times at the barn in the days leading up to the race. Those exams began Wednesday.
“We are doing this to ensure those horses are fit throughout the entire week and look good every day coming into Preakness,” she said.
Benson indicated that after the high-profile breakdowns Derby week, track management expanded their plan from requiring both regulatory and private vet sign-off just on stakes horses to requiring those authorizations for all runners this weekend. She also said that The Stronach Group is working with industry stakeholders to get expanded safety protocols in place for all race days at its tracks, not just high-profile weekends like Preakness.
“We certainly do have veterinarians watching Pimlico and Laurel weekly, watching training,” she said. “Those things we do in California we're trying to get implemented nationwide.”
A big weekend like the Black-Eyed Susan and Preakness cards at Pimlico poses a particular challenge since roughly two-thirds of the horses running aren't local, and are therefore not familiar to the regulatory veterinarians in Maryland.
The Stronach Group, together with the California Horse Racing Board, added a number of new requirements for runners there after the high-profile equine fatalities spike in 2019, including increasing the required time for horses to be on-site pre-race, sign-off from private veterinarians before racing or training, and post-workout drug testing. Critics have pointed out that those policies were not implemented at its Maryland and Florida facilities, although during a spate of safety concerns at Laurel Park in late April, The Maryland Jockey Club said it would be “discussing plans for implementation” of those policies in Maryland.
When asked about the status of those policies in Florida, a spokesman released the following statement to the Paulick Report:
“First and foremost, we are hopeful that reforms offered up by HISA will finally be codified and implemented this month. We are also continuously working with our partners at Gulfstream and elsewhere to enact additional reforms already on the books in California. This will help save equine lives.”
Drug testing will continue to be handled by the state of Maryland for this year's Preakness, as the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit does not begin national drug testing protocols until May 22.
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