Tag: HISA

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:

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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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Churchill Downs Unveils New Safety Initiatives

In the wake of 12 horses suffering fatal injuries since Apr. 27 and after a Thursday meeting with horsemen, Churchill Downs announced new safety initiatives that will go into effect immediately.

They are:

  • A pause of track-based incentives such as trainer start bonuses and purse pay-out allocations to every race finisher through last place. Purse pay-outs will now be limited to the top five finishers. Churchill Downs officials will engage in ongoing discussions with horsemen to determine ways to reallocate these funds to best serve industry needs. With record-high purses, Churchill has been able to allocate purse money to all starters. For example, the 12th-place finisher in last Saturday's $225,000 Keertana S., Sinfiltre (Uncle Mo) earned $2,070 despite losing by 22 1/4 lengths.
  • Restricting the number of starts per horse to four starts during a rolling eight-week period.
  • Ineligibility standards for poor performance. Horses that are beaten by more than 12 lengths in five consecutive starts will be ineligible to race at Churchill Downs until approved by the Equine Medical Director to return.

Of the 12 horses who have died thus far at the meet, the new rules would have been applicable to only one, Kimberley Dream (Colonel John). The 5-year-old mare was beaten by 12 lengths or more in five straight races before breaking down in a race on May 27, the most recent fatality to occur at the track. During that stretch, she was beaten an average of 26 lengths per race.

The Thursday morning meeting also included a presentation by California-based equine surgeon Dr. Ryan Carpenter. He provided educational information and tools to trainers and practicing veterinarians about advanced interventions that can be considered for certain equine injuries.

“The attending veterinarians and trainers at Churchill Downs are incredibly capable and knowledgeable,” said Dr. Will Farmer, Equine Medical Director for Churchill Downs Incorporated, in a statement released by the track. “We feel a duty to provide the latest information on surgical interventions from an expert who experienced the challenges in California a few years ago that we currently face today. Any decision must be made first and foremost with the long-term well-being of the horse in mind. It is imperative that all available, educated and informed options can be efficiently, confidently and thoroughly relayed to the owners.”

Trainer Dale Romans was among those who attended the meeting, which was held at the backstretch recreation center. The Romans-trained Rio Moon (Bal a Bali {Brz}) is among the horses who have died, suffering a fatal injury in a May 14 race.

“It was packed. Standing room only,” he said. “It was the first horsemen's meeting I've ever been to that had that kind of turnout. Everyone is concerned.”

While Romans said he wasn't sure what kind of impact the new rules will have, he said he is confident that track management will do everything in its power to get the situation under control.

“People should just be glad that Churchill is on top of it,” he said. “They will do everything they can to keep every horse healthy and safe. This could help. I'm sure Churchill is studying this to try to find the common denominator. They must have found something where they think these rules will help. I trust in Churchill. This is a safe racetrack. It has always has been one of the safest tracks in the world. At Churchill, horses come first and horse racing comes second. The trainers here may be Churchill loyalists, but that's ok because they've earned our loyalty.”

Romans said a slew of breakdowns in a short period of time is always a possibility.

“In my opinion, this is a statistical anomaly,” he said. “We have a rash of breakdowns right now and then we might go for a very long time without one.”

Trainer Kenny McPeek did not attend the meeting, but touched based afterward with his assistant, who did. Like Romans, he wasn't ready to point any fingers.

“The unfortunate part of our sport is that horses do get injured,” he said. “Their efforts are genuine and they are trying to find some solutions. But I don't think it's ever going to be a zero game. Every time I breeze a horse or run a horse, I want them to come back good. You're always keeping your fingers crossed that nothing goes wrong. But it does sometimes. I don't want to jinx myself but my horses have done great over this track this spring. We've had a large group of horses at Churchill and we haven't had any issues. I think the track has been fantastic all spring.”

One issue not addressed by Churchill was the ratio between claiming prices and purses. Some in the industry believe that horsemen have an incentive to run unsound horses in claiming races when the purses are lucrative. At Churchill, $20,000 claimers run for a purse of $52,000 or 2.6 times the claiming price. The Horse Racing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) had proposed a rule that the purse of a race could not be more than 1.6 times the claiming price. But that rule was rescinded in 2021 after HISA received negative feedback.

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Weekly Stewards and Commissions Rulings, May 23-29

Every week, the TDN publishes a roundup of key official rulings from the primary tracks within the four major racing jurisdictions of California, New York, Florida and Kentucky.

Here's a primer on how each of these jurisdictions adjudicates different offenses, what they make public (or not) and where.

With the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) having gone into effect on July 1, 2022, the TDN will also post a roundup of the relevant HISA-related rulings from the same week.

California

Track: Santa Anita

Date: 05/26/2023

Licensee: Armando Aguilar, apprentice jockey

Penalty: Four-day suspension

Violation: Careless riding

Explainer: Having received notice from the California Horse Racing Board that the appeal of LATS Ruling #59 (May 7, 2023) has been withdrawn, the original ruling is reinstated.  Apprentice Jockey Armando Aguilar is suspended for 4 racing days (May 27, 28, 29 & June 2, 2023).

Track: Santa Anita

Date: 05/26/2023

Licensee: George Papaprodromou, trainer

Penalty: $500 fine

Violation: Out-of-competition medication violation

Explainer: Trainer George Papaprodromou, who worked the horse The Slap at Santa Anita Park on February 19, 2023, is fined $500.00 and assessed one half (1/2) point in accordance with California Horse Racing Rule #1843.4 (Multiple Medication Violations – Expires 5/26/24) pursuant to California Horse Racing Board Rule #1887 (Trainer or Owner to Insure Condition of Horse) for violation of California Horse Racing Board Rule #1868 (Authorization Medication During Workouts) and Rule #1843.1 (b) (Prohibited Drug Substances – Phenylbutazone [Class 4].

New York

Track: Belmont Park

Date: 05/25/2023

Licensee: Steven Lascher, racing official

Penalty: $8,000 fine

Violation: Failure to administer lasix

Explainer: Official Dr. Steven Lascher is hereby fined the sum of $8,000 for failing to follow proper lasix procedures, necessitating the scratches of horses racing in the 3rd race on May 19th 2023 at Belmont Park.

For more on the story, read here.

Track: Belmont Park

Date: 05/25/2023

Licensee: Christopher Carmac, racing official

Penalty: $2,000 fine

Violation: Unauthorized participation of horse

Explainer: Mr. Christopher Camac is hereby fined the sum of $2,000 for allowing the unauthorized participation of horse (Georgie's Ladies) on January 8th 2022 race 9, March 12th 2023 race 9, March 24th 2023 race 3 and April 16th 2023 race 9.

Track: Belmont Park

Date: 05/26/2023

Licensee: Rob Atras, trainer

Penalty: Ten-day suspension, $1,000 fine

Violation: Medication violation

Explainer: Mr. Rob Atras as responsible trainer under 9 NYCRR 4043.4(a), violated commission rules in that Mr. Rob Atras trained horse “Market Alert” , that finished 4th in race 7 at Aqueduct Racetrack on February 20th 2023, and having received a report from the New York Drug Testing and Research Program that a race-day sample taken from the horse “Market Alert” had the substance Phenylbutazone present at a concentration, including an assessment of the measurement and imprecision of the quantitative threshold, in excess of the quantitative threshold, in excess of 0.3 mcg/ml in plasma in violation of 9 NYCRR 4043.4 (a) 26. Having waived the right to request a hearing , Mr. Rob Atras is suspended 10 Calandar days effective Sunday June 11th 2023 through June 20th 2023 inclusive, and fined the sum of one thousand ($1,000) dollars.

Furthermore, “Market Alert” is disqualified from any part of the purse and the Stewards order the purse redistributed as follows:

  1. #5 Bourbon Calling
  2. #4 King Kumbalay
  3. #6 Practical Coach
  4. #2 Chestertown
  5. #1 Lobsta
  6. #7 No Burn

During this period of suspension, Mr. Rob Atras shall not directly nor indirectly participate in New York State pari-mutuel horse racing, is denied privileges and use of the grounds of New York State racetracks, and is forbidden to participate in any share of purses. In addition, every horse is denied the privileges of the grounds and shall not participate in pari-mutuel racing in New York State that is (A) owned or trained by Mr. Rob Atras, or by any individual who serves as Mr. Rob Atras agent or employee during this period of suspension; or (B) for which Mr. Rob Atras is directly or indirectly involved in training during this period of suspension, including any arrangements to care for, train, enter in a race, race, invoice, collect fees or other payments related to, manage funds, employ and / or insure workers, provide advice or other information, or otherwise handle or assist with any aspect of the training of such horses.

NEW HISA STEWARDS RULINGS

The following rulings were reported on HISA's “rulings” portal, except for the voided claim rulings which were sent to the TDN directly. Some of these rulings are from prior weeks as they were not reported contemporaneously.

One important note: HISA's whip use limit is restricted to six strikes during a race.

Violations of Crop Rule

Delaware Park

Xavier Perez Rivera – violation date May 25; $250 fine and one-day suspension, 9 strikes

John Paul Hiraldo – violation date May 25; $250 fine and one-day suspension, 7 strikes

Thistledown

Juan Valez – violation date May 23; $250 fine and one-day suspension, 1-3 strikes over the limit

Santa Anita

Antonio Fresu – violation date May 27; $250 fine and one-day suspension, 7 strikes

Hector Berrios – violation date May 28; $584 fine and one-day suspension, 7 strikes

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