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KHRC Update on Churchill’s Horse Fatalities

On the heels of both the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) and Churchill Downs updating horsemen and the public Thursday on actions taken regarding the 12 equine deaths since Apr. 27 at the Louisville oval, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) issued an update of their own Friday afternoon outlining investigative actions already taken and planned to be taken in the future. The statement, which originated from the Commonwealth of Kentucky Public Protection Cabinet, appears in its entirety below:

“The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) takes the safety of all racing participants very seriously. The increased number of horse fatalities in Kentucky is concerning and the KHRC's veteran team continues to explore every known variable that could possibly be contributing factors in these deaths.

“Working daily with Churchill Downs and the Horseracing Safety Authority (HISA), the KHRC has taken the following actions:

Opened an investigation into every horse fatality
Interviewed jockeys, trainers, owners, grooms and backside workers regarding safety concerns and observations
Increased pre-race scrutiny on every horse for racing soundness
Participated in roundtable discussions with Churchill Downs' veterinary team, track superintendents and track executives looking for any recurring factor in the incidents.
Reached out to California Horse Racing Board Executive Director Scott Chaney for best practices in the event of a rash of equine fatalities
Participated in the HISA emergency summit and shared details of daily workouts, investigative interviews
Created an executive-level safety steward position to coordinate daily track safety measures. Job details will be posted at KHRC.ky.gov when available.

“Out of an abundance of caution and effective June 7, 2023, Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund purses will be limited to first through fifth place finishers.

“All investigations opened after Apr. 29, 2023 are ongoing, but so far have not identified a common variable between these recent fatalities. The KHRC has not received necropsy reports from the University of Kentucky for any horse fatality after May 2, 2023. Once necropsies are completed and blood analysis is returned, the KHRC veterinary team takes a comprehensive look at all known factors that contributed to that death and compiles those results in a mortality review. As these reviews are completed, they will be made public and posted to the KHRC website at https://khrc.ky.gov/new_docs.aspx?cat=30&menuid=30

“Each completed mortality review will be shared with HISA for further review and recommendations.

“On June 2, 2022, the KHRC entered a voluntary agreement with HISA that grants them authority to oversee racetrack safety. On Mar. 21, 2023, KHRC entered a voluntary agreement with HISA's Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Program.

“With these agreements in effect, the KHRC has authority to suspend a license for any violation that threatens the integrity of Kentucky horse racing or the KHRC's ability to protect the racing public except where HISA has preempted state regulations in the areas of 1) track safety, and 2) anti-doping and medication control (“ADMC”). If a track had violations related to either of these areas, HISA would have jurisdiction.”

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HISA Issues Churchill Downs Update

After 12 horses suffered fatal injuries at Churchill Downs in the last five weeks, prompting the Louisville track to announce new safety initiatives Thursday, the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) issued an update on the situation. The HISA statement appears below in its entirety:

Over the past several days, the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) has undertaken multiple measures to better understand the circumstances surrounding the recent spate of equine fatalities at Churchill Downs in hopes of working with the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) and Churchill Downs to mitigate additional risk to the horses and riders competing at Churchill Downs moving forward.

On Tuesday, May 30, HISA convened a Veterinary Summit with its counterparts at Churchill Downs and the KHRC to thoroughly review all veterinary information available and conduct additional analyses. Those discussions continued through yesterday with ongoing engagement between the veterinary teams. Specifically, the Summit included robust discussion of three different points of intervention with regard to racing injuries: 1) injury management, 2) preventing at-risk horses from racing via veterinary scrutiny, and 3) preventing at-risk horses from entering.

The dialogue was productive and conclusions from the Summit have been shared directly with key stakeholders to inform next steps. While no obvious or specific pattern emerged, HISA welcomes Churchill Downs' efforts announced earlier today to minimize risk of equine fatalities and is implementing the following additional measures:

Effective with Saturday's entries, HISA's Director of Equine Safety and Welfare will conduct an additional layer of post-entry screening. HISA's rule 2142 (Assessment of Racing Soundness) requires post-entry screenings of previous pre-Race inspection findings of entered Horses to identify Horses that may be at increased risk for injury. The review includes past performances, lay-ups (more than 60 days without a timed Workout or Race), last 30 days medical history, previous injury and lameness diagnostics, intraarticular corticosteroid injections, previous surgery and other individual Horse risk factors.
HISA has directed the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU) to collect blood and hair samples for all fatalities involving Covered Horses. The results from such collections will be used to facilitate investigations into the cause of such fatalities. The data collected by HIWU in connection with Covered Horse fatalities will also be used to track relevant statistics and trends in connection with fatalities.
HISA has appointed Dr. Alina Vale, an equine forensics specialist, to conduct an additional thorough review of all necropsies performed on Covered Horses. Dr. Vale has conducted several postmortem reviews as an official veterinarian for the California Horse Racing Board, including participating in the review following a spate of equine fatalities at Santa Anita in 2019.

Additionally, Dennis Moore began his analysis of Churchill Downs' racing and training surfaces yesterday. That review is ongoing; Moore's conclusions will be shared publicly once his review is complete.

HISA continues to urgently seek additional answers to more clearly identify the causes of these recent fatalities as well as tangible interventions to prevent them in the future. All options remain on the table, and HISA will continue to vigilantly monitor events at Churchill Downs moving forward.

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HISA To Conduct ‘Emergency Veterinary Summit’ To Address CD Fatalities

With the number of equine fatalities during the current spring meeting at Churchill Downs now up to 12, officials at the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) are convening an 'emergency veterinary summit' to be held Tuesday, May 30, in Kentucky.

“HISA's highest priority is the safety and well-being of the horses and riders competing under its jurisdiction,” a HISA statement released Monday begins. “We remain deeply concerned by the unusually high number of equine fatalities at Churchill Downs over the last several weeks. We continue to seek answers, and we are working diligently with Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) to mitigate any additional risk.”

The Tuesday meeting is expected to bring together the veterinary teams from Churchill Downs, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) and HISA to 'thoroughly review all veterinary information available and conduct additional analysis in hopes of better understanding the events surrounding the recent fatalities.'

HISA is also enlisting the services of noted track superintendent Dennis Moore to provide 'a second and independent' review of the racing and training surfaces at Churchill Downs. The review is scheduled to begin Wednesday, May 31, and HISA CEO Lisa Lazarus and Racetrack Safety Director Ann McGovern will be on site to receive results and analysis and any suggested follow-ups needed.

Dr. Jennifer Durenberger, the director of equine safety and welfare, is also being dispatched to provide additional veterinary expertise and observation to ensure optimal veterinary oversight of the horses.

Following a special Memorial Day program Monday, racing is set to resume at Churchill Thursday, June 1, with a first post of 5 p.m. ET.

Following the 11th and 12th equine fatalities last Friday and Saturday, respectively, officials at Churchill Downs issued a statement of their own, pledging their commitment to pursue answers and solutions to the problem.

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Churchill Downs Issues Statement On Equine Fatalities

Edited Press Release

Churchill Downs Incorporated released the following statement Saturday in response to questions about track safety during the meet:

In today's first race, Kimberley Dream (Colonel John) sustained a significant injury–a distal sesamodean ligament rupture–to her left front leg. A similar injury occurred to Lost in Limbo (Into Mischief) during Friday's seventh race. Unfortunately, in both scenarios, attending veterinarians determined that the injuries were inoperable and unrecoverable and made the difficult but most humane decision to euthanize. We send our deepest and most sincere condolences to the connections and all who loved and cared for Kimberley Dream and Lost in Limbo.

There have been 12 equine fatalities at Churchill Downs since the stable area reopened for training on March 30. It is with absolute dismay and sorrow that we report this highly unusual statistic. Our team members mourn the loss of these animals as we continue to work together to discover cause and determine appropriate investments to minimize, to the degree possible, any avoidable risk in this sport and on our property. We do not accept this as suitable or tolerable and share the frustrations of the public, and in some cases, the questions to which we do not yet have answers. We have been rigorously working since the opening of the meet to understand what has led to this spike and have yet to find a conclusive discernable pattern as we await the findings of ongoing investigations into those injuries and fatalities.

As with any matter under investigation, justice or answers are not always swift, but the commitment to being thorough is incredibly important. We understand the justified desire for answers, yet also respect the process and authority of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) and the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) when managing these important investigations. We are actively working in cooperation with these regulatory authorities and share their goal to improve the safety of this sport.

In recent weeks, we have been focused on our responsibility to provide the safest racing environment possible on our property. Part of that effort has included increasing the frequency with which our surfaces are tested. Earlier this week, Churchill Downs commissioned Dr. Mick Peterson, Executive Director of Racing Surfaces Testing Laboratory and Professor of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering at the University of Kentucky, to perform additional diagnostics on our racetrack. The report indicated that the measurements from retesting do not raise any concerns and that none of the data is inconsistent with prior measurements from Churchill Downs or other tracks.

We simply will not allow these equine fatalities to be in vain. We are engaged in an epidemiological study with the Jockey Club to review each individual horse to determine if there are any undetected patterns that have not been previously identified. These findings can be incorporated into our daily review of entries and potentially trigger additional interventions using advanced diagnostic modalities.

Additionally, we have worked to uncover ways to invest in research and resources that may be made available to trainers, so that together we can better detect pre-existing injuries and work to avoid catastrophic injuries in racing. We have made promising progress in determining ways to increase the use of technology to better inform and intervene when abnormalities in horses present and are eager to share these announcements with horsemen and the public in the coming days. This is in addition to mining and enhancing our already comprehensive safety protocols and policies (Churchill Downs “Safety from Start to Finish”), all developed over the years to improve upon every opportunity we have to advocate in the best interest of our equine and human athletes.

We are troubled by this recent string of fatalities. It is extremely inconsistent with the outcomes we have experienced over the years, with the reputation we have developed over the decades and with the expectations we set for ourselves and owe our fans. We are committed to doing this important work and updating the public with our developments.

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