Carpenter: The Public Wants Change, Not Explanations, When It Comes To Racing Injuries

For racetrackers outside the state of California, the public uproar over the 2018-19 spate of racehorse deaths at Santa Anita probably feels like a memory. After all, in the time since then, many have been riding out constant financial uncertainty thanks to an ongoing global pandemic, and several states have faced threats to supplemental gaming or HHR income.

For racetrack practitioner and surgeon Dr. Ryan Carpenter though, the sea changes that started with mainstream media attention on Santa Anita haven't finished – and they probably won't anytime soon. Carpenter has been outspoken ever since about the ways he has seen the public focus improve racing for the better in California. At a recent virtual edition of the Tex Cauthen Seminar on racing safety, Carpenter continued to provide his thoughts on the interaction between the racing world and the world at large.

Carpenter was the first to admit he was skeptical of the initial changes the state and track ownership rolled out in response to the crisis —  chiefly, backing up therapeutic drug administrations – but after seeing them in action, he believes they are making a real difference. The new requirement to have horses examined after workouts and races has been key in letting veterinarians get a look at horses in vulnerable moments when they're most likely to show signs of a brewing discomfort due to bone remodeling.

But although trade media acknowledged when Santa Anita's spike not only passed, but fatality rates decreased significantly, Carpenter pointed out the mainstream media did not view it the same way. He highlighted a recent Los Angeles Times editorial that concluded: “If track owners and trainers want to keep racing horses, then they need to keep them from dying in the process.”

“The reality is that every horse that sustains a fatal injury in Southern California is going to make the news, in one form or another,” he said. “It's talked about commonly on news outlets like NPR and it's going to be in the LA Times or the national news.”

Carpenter presented the results of a study undertaken by the Thoroughbred Safety Coalition to better understand the impact of the Santa Anita breakdowns on public opinion. Survey takers were asked about what they thought the future of racing should be before and after they read about the Santa Anita fatalities. They were asked to choose whether they believed racing should continue, continue with reform, or be banned outright. As other surveys have shown, a small group of survey takers wanted racing banned – 16% of respondents before they'd read about Santa Anita and 19% after reading about it. The most interesting change for Carpenter was that 57% said prior to learning about Santa Anita that racing should continue on with reforms, but the number jumped to 66% after they read about the breakdowns.

Most people (82%) said the industry's biggest priority should be better protection of the safety and well-being of horses. Another 46% wanted to see increased transparency and accountability for rulebreakers.

The survey also asked people to indicate whether they had a favorable or an unfavorable opinion of various sports, including professional football, basketball, soccer, and racing. The Triple Crown was viewed favorably by 46% of respondents, unfavorably by 24%, and 30% had never heard of the series or didn't know enough to form an opinion. The American horse racing industry generally was 37% favorable, 35% unfavorable, 27% undecided – roughly equal to boxing and not too far off from the rankings for the greyhound racing industry. Professional football, by contrast, had left a favorable impression with 60% of followers and an unfavorable one with just 28%.

Carpenter thought the latter statistic was interesting, given the heat professional football took for its treatment of concussions a few years ago. It would seem it has rebounded some of its public trust in the intervening years thanks to reform and good marketing.

One of the most disturbing findings for Carpenter was a question asking people who they trusted to help enforce safety rules in racing. Large animal veterinarians like himself ranked highest, getting trust from 70% of the audience. Animal rights groups including the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) ranked second, with 49% of respondents saying they trusted the group to help enforce safety rules in racing.

“We can't let PETA – who doesn't want to reform the way we do things, they want to eliminate the way we do things – be the trusted voice for people to go to,” he said.

Carpenter cited a bill sponsored by a California assemblyman who took input from the industry and from PETA when drafting the legislation.

“Unfortunately, he followed some of PETA's recommendations. This bill was passed and is currently the law of the land in California. Some of the things we're doing differently is because PETA was able to speak on our behalf. In all honesty, we can't let this happen. We as veterinarians have to be the ones to speak on our behalf, and on the behalf of the horse.”

What about the familiar refrain from many hardboots that we simply have to tell the outside world what a good job racing does at protecting its equine athletes?

“People often say to me, 'You know Ryan, we just have to educate them about what we're doing. Once they understand what we're doing, they'll understand why we're doing it,'” he said. “I think it's important to acknowledge the fact that by and large, that train has left the station. While I don't think education is bad, if you look at this graph and you look at the stat analysis, people aren't asking us to teach them what we're doing. They're asking us to do it differently by putting the horse's safety first. I think you can do that when you cultivate a cultural change in your industry and in your backstretch.”

The post Carpenter: The Public Wants Change, Not Explanations, When It Comes To Racing Injuries appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Santa Anita Wraps Autumn Meet With Zero Racing Or Training Fatalities

Santa Anita Park concluded the Autumn meet as the safest racetrack in the nation, without a single racing or training fatality since the horses returned from Del Mar on Sept. 5. During that time period, which includes the 16-day Autumn racing meet which was delayed because of the Bobcat Fire in the neighboring San Gabriel Mountains, 1,106 horses raced over the dirt track and turf course. Additionally, horses recorded over 51,200 training sessions, including 3,771 timed workouts over the main track and 487 over the training track.

The main dirt track has not had a racing fatality in 2020, including the 2019-20 Winter/Spring meet which began in December.

In 2020 there have been five racing fatalities from 5,069 starts, or 0.98 fatalities per 1,000 starters, well below the national average.

In addition to hosting some of the most prestigious races in the nation, Santa Anita is home to the largest training facilities in the country, operating nearly year-round with over 400,000 annual training sessions.

“These results are the efforts of the racing community to put the safety of the horse first at every turn, including additional veterinary regulations and observations, training approvals and analysis of entries,” said Aidan Butler, Chief Operating Officer of 1/ST Racing. “Last year, we set a course to reform the sport of horse racing for the next generation. This year, we are seeing the results of the hard work everyone has put into this effort.

“We especially appreciate the dedication of the owners, trainers, veterinarians and hardworking men and women who care for the horses, of the jockeys who have adapted their riding styles, the California Horse Racing Board which regulates the sport, and veteran trackman Dennis Moore and the entire Santa Anita track crew, who tirelessly work the surface day and night with safety top of mind.

We acknowledged last year that this modernization would likely lead to a short-term impact on Santa Anita's field size, but as these reforms become the national standards, California is ahead of the implementation curve which strengthens the sport in our state. We sincerely thank the bettors who have continued to support our racing product during this transition.

“On behalf of everyone at Santa Anita, we'd also like to let our fans know how much we've missed their passionate voices cheering these horses at The Great Race Place and we look forward to welcoming everyone back just as soon as we are able to do so.”

Live racing will return to the Arcadia oval at Santa Anita Park as tradition dictates on Dec. 26.

The post Santa Anita Wraps Autumn Meet With Zero Racing Or Training Fatalities appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Whip Rule Debate Reaches New York As Commissioners Question Whether Change Is Needed

Whip rules have become a popular topic at racing commission meetings in recent months, with new restrictions in California and New Jersey drawing ire from jockeys there and changes coming soon in Kentucky. Now, gaming officials in New York are considering whether they need to take additional steps to restrict whip use in the state.

At a commission of the New York State Gaming Commission held Oct. 19, officials invited several groups representing the interests of racing officials, jockeys, racetrack management, and The Jockey Club to present their views on whip regulation for informational purposes. Commissioners did not call the meeting with the intent of taking any action, but rather allowing a question and answer forum for commission members to better understand the issue before proceeding with any rule changes or choosing not to pursue changes.

Currently, state statutes in New York do not place a limit on the total number of strikes a jockey may make during a race, but stewards do impose a restriction that a horse may be hit no more than five times in a row before being given a chance to respond. Racing officials also say they can and do pull riders in for disciplinary action if they feel the whip has been misused, irrespective of the number of consecutive hits made. Riders are required to sign an acknowledgement of the waiver, which is available in both English and Spanish, before the start of each meet.

Erinn Higgins, state steward at Finger Lakes, said so far this year the track has seen four total violations related to the whip – two riders with one violation each and one rider with two. Braulio Baeza, state steward at NYRA racetracks, estimates there are no more than ten whip violations on that circuit annually, though both agree there were more when the five hit restriction was first put into place.

The stewards agreed that New York was somewhat ahead of its time in imposing some restrictions on whip use ahead of other jurisdictions. From the perspective of Carmine Donofrio, state steward emeritus for NYRA tracks, there's no reason to fix the current system if it's working. Donofrio made clear his viewpoint that further restrictions on the whip would be challenging for racing officials to enforce. Although there were no suggestions from the commission that its members were considering banning the whip except for safety or correction (as has been implemented in New Jersey), Donofrio warned that would be problematic.

“Are the stewards supposed to adjudicate that?” he asked. “What if the jockey says the horse was about to prop and I had to hit him. Are you going to call him a liar?”

Current riders and stewards agreed the number of times a rider uses a whip for safety or correction, as opposed to encouragement, is probably low, around five times or so per year. Still, when it is necessary to keep a horse's attention or correct their path of travel, riders agreed it's an option they want to have.

Hall of Fame rider Mike Smith appeared at the meeting via teleconference, as did John Velazquez and Javier Castellano. In addition to their concerns about the necessity of the whip for safety, the jockeys raised questions about the integrity of a wagering contest in which horses could not be encouraged by their riders, which might handicap some more than others. Smith recalled his come-from-behind Kentucky Derby win aboard Giacomo in 2005, an effort in which he's sure he used the whip more than the six-strike limit that now may be imposed in Kentucky.

“He was a horse you really had to ride, but he would respond,” said Smith. “As long as you encouraged him, he would go. He was like a bike — as soon as you'd stop pedaling, he'd stop running. There's no way in heck I'dve ever won the Kentucky Derby on that horse if you'd put a limit on it or if you'd made me use it in an improper way.”

Smith has been vocal in his opposition to California's new requirement that riders can only use the whip if it's turned downward in an underhanded motion, which he says jeopardizes riders' balance, is ineffective, and can easily result in the horse's sensitive flank taking the hit because the jockey can't aim well.

Similarly, Smith said Zenyatta was a horse who tended to coast after passing several horses, and often required him to use the whip to create her thrilling, narrow-margin victories.

Representatives from The Jockey Club say their research has shown riding crop use is one of the primary concerns of the public — both of non-racing fans and racing fans. A 2011 McKinsey and Company analysis showed that along with race day medication and aftercare, it was one of the top three drivers that contributed to a negative public perception of the sport. Jim Gagliano, president and chief operating officer of The Jockey Club, said he anticipates the public tolerance for whip use is going to decrease, not increase, as time goes on.

“To me and The Jockey Club, we see a future where hitting an animal with a stick isn't going to be acceptable anymore,” Gagliano said.

Gagliano believes that while current horseplayers may not be happy with potential changes to whip rules, there are potential customers on the sidelines who may be, and they are the target audience for changes like this.

Representatives of the Thoroughbred Safety Coalition, including NYRA Senior Vice President of Racing Operations Martin Panza, expressed a desire for whatever rulemaking made in the future to be uniform across the country. Of course, whip rules in California and Kentucky, two key jurisdictions in the Coalition, are already different, meaning either action or inaction in New York would still result in different rules between racing's three biggest states. Craig Fravel, chief executive officer of racing operations for The Stronach Group, downplayed the potential impact of any rule changes to horseplayers. After all, he pointed out, the number of hits a horse receives in a race isn't currently printed in past performance records, so it doesn't seem all that important to bettors.

Panza pushed a bit harder for reform, warning the commission that if something doesn't change soon, he worries racing in the state will face more public scrutiny. Ever since last year's headlines about breakdown rates at Santa Anita Park, Panza said NYRA social media managers have encountered more feedback and concern from users questioning the use of the whip on horses — and he doesn't want to see it become a topic for mainstream news.

“I think when you run a Triple Crown and you can hit a horse six times in the Kentucky Derby and six times in the Preakness, and you come to New York and you can hit them 30 times, I'm pretty sure NBC is going to bring that up,” said Panza. “Right now, New York has no restrictions on the number of times you can hit a horse.”

“Martin, they should be following us,” said Velazquez of the other jurisdictions. “We shouldn't be following them.”

The post Whip Rule Debate Reaches New York As Commissioners Question Whether Change Is Needed appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

This Year’s Derby Features A New 20-Stall Starting Gate, But Is It A Safe One For Assistant Starters?

Assistant starters are unsung heroes of horse racing. They risk their lives a dozen times each race day to ensure every horse has a good, fair, safe, and unbiased start. On a good day when all goes well, fans might see these daring men for one or two minutes before each race as they load horses in the gate and then perch beside them inside the gate while waiting for the bell to ring and the gates to spring open.

The job is arguably the most dangerous in horse racing, after that of the jockey. According to a paper published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2000, 35% of all injuries to jockeys took place as horses enter, stand in, or leave the starting gate.

“It's as dangerous as any job on the racetrack,” said Scott Jordan, who became the starter for Churchill Downs in 2006 after years as an assistant starter. “You're trapped in there with a 1,200-pound horse in a four and a half-foot hole. It's just like being in a two-horse trailer, up by the horse's head.”

Jordan and his crew liken the job of assistant starter to the captain of a ship — they are the last to bail out when trouble explodes, and we've all seen that happen. Anxious horses can rear or flip, and often set off a chain reaction from others around them.

“You get the rider off [the horse] first, and then second you get the horse out of there. The third thing is you get those riders beside him out of there,” Jordan said. “All the riders are first. That's our first main objective, so no human gets hurt. Then we get all the horses out of there so no horses get hurt. Then my assistant starters are the last ones to leave.”

Caleb Hayes has been an assistant starter on Jordan's crew for many years. Additionally, in 2019 he accepted the head starter's job at Turfway Park in northern Kentucky. Hayes said a lot more is involved with the assistant starter's job than it appears.

“I'm looking at, is the horse comfortable, is the horse standing properly, is he ready. … So when the gates do open, those first two steps are going to go without an issue,” he said. “…So I want to make sure all four feet are standing squarely, that he's looking straight down the racetrack. And then while you're doing that, you also need to make sure that that jock has his feet in the irons, that he has hold of his reins, his goggles are down, and he knows that we're getting ready to go.”

All this is done while the assistant starter balances on a pontoon, a ledge attached to the partition between stalls, about six inches wide on most starting gates in North America. Assistant starters in Europe and Australia, called “handlers,” don't remain in the stall with the horse. They load it and immediately duck out through an open section in the front door.

The Grade 1 Kentucky Derby is the only leg of the Triple Crown in which more than 14 horses compete. The traditional United Puett starting gate has 14 stalls, so in recent years Churchill has added an auxiliary starting gate to the United Puett to accommodate the the field, which may include as many as 20 horses. This year Churchill will use a new 20-stall starting gate, custom designed by Australian company Steriline Racing. The pontoon on the new gate is about three and a half inches wide, hardly wide enough to accommodate an assistant starter.

Getting the new gate ready for this year's Kentucky Derby has been a challenge. Steriline shipped the pieces and parts to Churchill Downs, but when it came time for the Australian engineers to fly to Louisville to assemble it, COVID-19 travel restrictions prohibited them from making the trip. The task fell on two maintenance workers on Churchill's payroll, a welder and a carpenter. Ed Berger, an outside salesman and consultant for Louisville supply shop Duke's A&W Enterprises, helped chase down missing parts and offer advice. Berger and his brother originally founded Duke's.

“It's kind of interesting, the whole situation,” Berger said. “Those two guys, and they would have some different helpers with them, but they were working via the phone with the engineer over in Australia, the engineer or technical support person available to them, and there were quite a few times when I went over there and this guy was FaceTiming them and showing them pictures: 'OK, how does this go together?' … I would sit there and watch. They were FaceTiming this fellow and they'd hold it up there, and he'd have to look at something and he would tell them, 'No, no. You have to put it on this-a-way or that way. There's quite a few integral parts that are on that starting gate. I found it quite amazing for what little bit I observed.”

One problem the maintenance men won't be able to solve is the narrower pontoons where the assistant starters will have to stand.

“They still have room to stand in there, but not as much,” Jordan said. “…If we have to make some modifications and do some stuff to make it more comfortable, I'm going to put my guys into the best situation I can put them in. I'm not going to put them in a vulnerable spot.”

Jordan hoped to test the Steriline gate during morning training on Aug. 24, but two of his crew tested positive for COVID-19, so the test was rescheduled for Aug. 26. As of publication time, this writer had no response from Churchill Downs as to whether that test went forward as scheduled or the results if it did. Jordan also said the Steriline was expected to be used in a race on opening day, Sept. 1. That leaves just four days until the Kentucky Derby to solve any problems that come to light.

“The first day of the meet, the racing secretary has actually written me a 1 1/4-mile race so I can take it out there and use it,” Jordan said. “Even if there are only ten horses in it, I'm going to take that gate out there and use it so the first time it's out on the racetrack and used isn't going to be for the Derby.”

Padding on the new starting gate also is a question. Churchill Downs's press release on Feb. 3 said, “All starting gates at Churchill Downs are outfitted with high-quality foam padding from Best Pad™, a leading innovator of safety products for the horse racing industry that protect both jockeys and horses from injury. This seamless padding is applied to all metal surfaces of the starting gate, including front and rear poles, face plates, handrails, superstructure, and pontoons.”

“Best Pad did not pad the Steriline gate,” said Dr. Philip Shrimpton, president of Best Pad and the innovator behind the unique padding used on Churchill's other gates.

It remains unclear which parts of the 20-horse gate will be padded for Derby Day. Removing or opting not to put the padding on the walls of the Steriline gate would make the pontoons an inch wider, but to Hayes, the choice between more padding or more space is a tricky one.

“The only thing that we can really do is remove some padding, because [the gate] is already made, so the height, the weight, the width—everything is already made up,” he said. “So when they add padding, it's going to take away just an inch because of padding. So if we can get rid of that padding, it gives us that inch back, so that's kind of where we're in a Catch-22 — we're going to get rid of padding to get more room, or do we want less room and more padding. I've opted for more room, if I have a vote.”

The gate crew hopes to be able to practice on the Steriline gate an ample number of times to get accustomed to it before the Kentucky Derby.

“When I go in there, I'm just going to try to find a comfortable spot for me to be in,” Hayes said. “It's a small area, and we're talking a grown man, a horse, and a jockey are all trying to fit in this tight little area. So a little bit of my job is even just staying out of the way. … Like I said, I'm a big guy, so when I'm in there, when they leave, the last thing I want is for my body to be in the way of the jock or the horse. It's kind of a tight-rope act.”

When asked his opinion of the new gate, Jordan said simply, “Well, we bought it.”

The post This Year’s Derby Features A New 20-Stall Starting Gate, But Is It A Safe One For Assistant Starters? appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Verified by MonsterInsights