StrideSAFE Town Hall in Kentucky: “This Could Be the Answer Horsemen Are looking For”

Last week, the research team associated with StrideSAFE–a biometric sensor mechanism capable of detecting minute changes in a horse's gait at high speed–announced that seven of eight horses that suffered catastrophic musculoskeletal cases at Churchill Downs during its most recent meet showed via post-race readouts abnormalities as soon as they left the starting gate.

In a nearly two-hour town hall Monday morning, StrideSAFE founder David Lambert and Churchill Downs equine medical director Will Farmer dug into the details, discussing the findings from an ongoing study in Kentucky and fielding questions from horsemen.

Eric Hamelback, CEO of the National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (HBPA), kicked the town hall off by cautioning how fatal equine injuries can happen no matter the regulatory safety net in place.

“Regulations are not going to eliminate risk,” said Hamelback. “And quite frankly, we don't want regulations to eliminate horsemanship.”

Over the next two hours, Lambert made the case that StrideSAFE–which can pick up the sorts of very subtle lameness undetectable to the human eye that are significant enough to possibly cause major musculoskeletal failures at some point down the line–could, if utilized smartly, go a long way to reducing the number of horses injured on the track.

“I firmly believe the only way this problem is going to get solved is if we give the trainers the right kind of information and give it to them in time to give them a chance to do something,” he said, before alluding to the national attention focused on the recent spate of fatalities at Churchill Downs. As a result, the meet was transferred to Ellis Park.

“Right now, you guys are on a beating to nothing,” Lambert added.

As part of a study funded by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) and in tandem with Washington State University, StrideSAFE has been used on all horses that have raced during the Churchill Downs spring 2023 meet, which concludes this Sunday. It has also been used on a select number of horses breezing during the morning.

In all, researchers have collected information from 6,616 individual runs.

The information is organized like a traffic light. A result in the red means there is a potentially major problem and immediate scrutiny of the horse is needed. An amber result suggests a small amount of change in the gait, and cautions connections to be on the lookout. A green result means there is no change and no immediate concern.

According to Lambert, about 5% of the horses studied were given the highest risk red-flag rating. These horses, he added, were about 300 times more likely to suffer a fatal injury than a horse green flagged.

As to how the technology works, StrideSAFE is a wireless iPhone-shaped device that fits snugly into the saddle towel, and eight hundred times a second, it takes an assortment of measurements to capture in minute detail the movement of the horse at high speed.

These measurements include the horse's acceleration and deceleration, the up-and-down concussive movement of the horse, and its medial-lateral motion–what is, in other words, the horse's movement from side to side.

“That's 2,400 data points every second your horse is running or breezing, so this is a massive amount of brand-new information that nobody has ever [received] before,” said Lambert.

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To understand exactly how StrideSAFE identifies almost imperceptible signs of lameness, it helps to break a single stride into three distinct stages.

In the first phase of the gallop, the hindlimbs load and propel the horse forward. In the second, the horse shifts its weight toward the front, its forelimbs acting like shock absorbers. This is followed by the lynchpin of the equation: A period of suspension, a mere fraction of a second, when the horse is entirely airborne.

If that horse is suffering a physical ailment or injury, it cannot adjust its body to compensate when its feet are grounded. It can only do this in midair, rotating its spine and pelvis in preparation for a more comfortable landing. Imagine a racecar hurtling along at high speed, one of its bolts working loose.

“The horse does all kinds of things in the air, twisting and shaking and moving,” Lambert had previously explained to the TDN.

In Monday's town hall, Lambert singled out the story of a horse that finished fourth in a Grade I event and showed no visible signs of lameness afterwards. The horse subsequently broke down over a week later during training.

“That sensor is screaming that the horse is in trouble,” said Lambert, highlighting abnormalities in a readout of the horse's high-speed gait during the race.

The town hall proved contentious at times, with some of the attending horsemen–many of whose concerns were voiced by Hamelback–sharing their frustrations that last week's announcement by the StrideSAFE researchers might have given the impression to the layman public that trainers should have known beforehand their horses were at risk.

Lambert apologized about the framing of the press release, all the while stressing how StrideSAFE could be an invaluable tool to catch potential problems early. The trick, explained both Farmer and Lambert, is to pair the StrideSAFE technology with a diagnostic follow-up to pinpoint the site of any brewing issue.

“It's not a diagnostic tool, it's a screening tool,” said Lambert,

Three red-flagged horses were subsequently scanned using the new PET imaging unit at the Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Kentucky, according to Denise McSweeney, a co-investigator in the study.

Lambert also admitted that the information collected from StrideSAFE paints far from a complete picture.

Not all the horses given a high-risk red-flag designation will suffer a fatal injury, for example. That's because in part, the horse's stride can be affected by things like the motion of the jockey and by stumbles out of the gate.

Furthermore, “very occasionally, a green-flagged horse will go down,” said Lambert.

But the current inconsistencies in data interpretation are outweighed by the high rate at which the technology identifies potentially at-risk horses, he argued.

“If there's a chance you'll save a jockey from being paralyzed, it's worth doing,” said Lambert, adding how greater use of StrideSAFE would aid in researchers and clinicians getting a better baseline understanding of what the data means.

Attendees also raised data privacy concerns. According to Farmer, the study results are not shared with the KHRC. Rather, the information is sent to Washington State University, where Warwick Bayly is the lead investigator.

In certain cases, the panelists explained, researchers have followed up with the horse's connections directly.

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) is not affiliated with the program.

The ongoing Kentucky study marks just the latest StrideSAFE trial to show promising results.

Of the 20 horses that suffered fatal musculoskeletal injuries during the period of a trial involving the New York Racing Association (NYRA), 17 of them had received a red rating in a race before suffering a catastrophic breakdown. One of the 20 had received a prior dark amber rating.

“Really what my sensor is doing is helping horsemanship,” Lambert said on Monday. In racing's ongoing quest to reduce equine injury and harm, he added, “This could be the answer horsemen are looking for.”

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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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