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Dirt, Turf, and Synthetic by the Numbers

After the TDN published two opinion pieces which recommended a return to synthetic surfaces, one by Earle Mack in the May 31 TDN and one by Bill Finley in this Monday's TDN, we have been inundated by comments, questions, and opinions about the relative safety of one surface versus another. Some of the questions asked for a year-by-year comparison, while other comments cited statistics that were not correct. Courtesy of The Jockey Club's Equine Injury database, here are the figures of racing fatalities per thousand starters, year by year for the past 14 years. These statistics include fatal injuries of Thoroughbreds that occurred during a race as reported by veterinary officials and includes Thoroughbreds that succumbed to a race-related injury within 72 hours after the race day. For a link to the complete table, click here.

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Racehorse Tax Incentive Bills Reintroduced

Two pieces of federal legislation to incentivize investments in Thoroughbreds were reintroduced Apr. 27 by United States Reps. Andy Barr and Morgan McGarvey, both of Kentucky.

The Race Horse Cost Recovery Act of 2023 would make the three-year depreciation schedule permanent for racehorses, regardless of their age when put into service. Currently, Congress must reauthorize this provision in the tax law on an annual basis.

The Racehorse Tax Parity Act would reduce the holding period for equine assets to be considered long term capital gains, putting them on a level playing field with other similar assets.

Both bills would require amending the Internal Revenue Service code of 1986.

Barr had introduced similar versions of the Cost Recovery and Tax Parity acts on at least three previous occasions dating to 2015, but no voting action was ever taken.

The full text of the new versions of the bills was not available at deadline for this story.

According to a press release from Barr's office, the bills are endorsed by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA), the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association, the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, Keeneland Association, the American Horse Council, and The Jockey Club.

“Permanently delivering these tax incentives for owners and breeders will strengthen investment in our signature equine industry,” said Barr, who serves as co-chair of the Congressional Horse Caucus.

“This legislation will deliver much-needed tax incentives for owners and breeders, fostering growth and investment in this critical industry and ensuring Kentucky remains the horseracing and breeding capital of the United States,” said McGarvey.

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Rate Of Fatal Injuries Lowest On Database Record

The rate of fatal injuries in 2022 was 1.25 horses per 1,000 starts, a 10.1% decrease from 2021 when there were 1.39 fatalities per 1,000 starts according to figures complied by the Equine Injury Database (EID) and released Monday by the Jockey Club. It was the lowest number since the EID began covering the fatality rate in 2009, when the figure was 2.00 horses per 1,000 starts.

“The data shows that since 2009, the risk of fatal injury during racing has declined by 37.5%, which is statistically significant,” said professor Tim Parkin of the University of Glasgow, who has consulted on the EID since its inception. “The overall downward trends are testament to the benefits of an evidence-based approach to safety, which is only possible thanks to the EID.”

Since 2018, the rate of fatal injury has dropped from 1.68 to 1.25, a decline of 25.6%. The 2022 numbers marked the fourth straight years that the risk of fatal injury has fallen.

“We can say with confidence that the risk of fatal injury is heading in a sustained downward direction both overall and in many specific areas,” Parkin said. “The six-month period from July 1, 2022, to December 31, 2022, was the safest six-month period on record since the inception of the EID in 2009. This evidence of positive progress is very encouraging and should be applauded by everyone in North American racing.”

There were just 12 fatalities in races run over synthetic surfaces in 2021, which worked out to a rate of 0.41 fatalities per 1,000 starters, making it, easily, the safest surface. Turf races were next at 0.99, followed by dirt races at 1.44. Races run at more than 8 furlongs were the safest at 0.86. Races run at 6 to 8 furlongs were next at 1.31, followed by races run at less than 6 furlongs at 1.38. Races for 2-year-olds were the safest in the age group at a rate of 0.98. Three-year-old races were next at 1.13, followed by races for 4-year-olds and upward at 1.34. The 3-year-old figure was notable as it showed a 25.7% decline from 2021 and that the figure was as high as 2.08 in 2014.

Since March 2012, racetracks have been able to voluntarily publish their statistics from the EID on The Jockey Club website. The racetracks that publish their EID statistics reported racing fatalities per 1,000 starts of 0.99 as compared to 1.42 for those that do not publish.

Some of the most notable gains have come at the Southern California tracks. At Santa Anita, the figure for 2022 was 0.63, down from 1.45 in 2021. Even more significantly, the rate of breakdowns has dropped considerably since 2019 when the number was 3.01, an alarmingly high rate that led to outcries from animal rights activists and politicians. At Del Mar in 2022, there were 0.56 fatalities per 1,000 starts. In 2016, the number was 3.01.

The trend at Keeneland was also a positive one, at 0.33. In 2019, the figure at Keeneland was 3.21.

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Purses Set Record In 2022 But Handle Drops Slightly

According to figures released Thursday by Equibase, a robust $1,309,837,841 in purse money was paid out during the year in the U.S., an increase of 10.92% and an all-time record for the sport.

Total handle on U.S. racing in 2022 was $12,108,807,335, a decrease of 0.87% when compared to 2021 numbers. The total bet in 2021 was $12,215,598,838.

“Thoroughbred racing purses and pari-mutuel handle continued to exhibit strength in 2022,” NTRA President and CEO Tom Rooney said in a statement. “Purses were up double-digits year-over year and reached an all-time high thanks in part to contributions from other gaming sources. Pari-mutuel handle was nearly equal to 2021 and the second highest since 2009. These business trends occurred during a year of unprecedented growth in legal, state regulated sports betting. The 2023 gaming landscape promises to be more competitive than ever for the sports wagering dollar. It also represents a huge opportunity to introduce pari-mutuel wagering and the sport of Thoroughbred racing to a vast new audience if we as an industry embrace the challenge.”

While wagering appears to be going through a period of relative stagnation, purses have never been better. The Jockey Club's Fact Book records purse data going back to 1988 when $676 million was paid out. Purses have nearly doubled since then and the 10.92% increase was the largest for the sport in a non-COVID year since the Jockey Club began collecting data.

Average purses paid out per day were $319,161, a 10.06% increase over 2021.

That purses are up in a year where handle fell is indicative of racing's increasing reliance on revenues from slot machines, Historical Horse Racing machines and other casino games. Kentucky, in particular, has seen huge increases in purses thanks to the popularity of the Historical Horse Racing Machines.

For reasons that remain unclear, betting fell significantly during the final quarter of the year and during December. Handle was off by 5.54% during the final quarter and by 7.52% in December.

Despite the drop, the news was not all bad. Handle broke the $12 billion mark for just the second time since 2009. After the betting numbers fell to $10.9 billion in 2020, when COVID-19 played havoc on racing schedules, handle was up 11.8% in 2021. Many have speculated that the increase was due to the sport attracting new customers while bettors were shut out from playing other sports during the pandemic.

The sport still has a long way to go before it can equal the type of handle figures that were being posted in the early 2000s. A record of $15.18 billion was wagered in 2003, the second year during a three-year stretch where handle eclipsed the $15 billion mark.

In the case of most other parameters, there was little movement between 2022 and 2021 figures. There were 33,453 races run during the year, a decline of just 0.33%. The total number of starts was 244,133, a drop of 1.31%. The average field size was 7.30, a slight drop from 2021 when the number was 7.37. The 7.30 number represented the smallest average field size since 1950 when the Jockey Club started keeping records.

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