For nearly two decades, the horse racing industry has witnessed a significant evolution in the way it addresses equine welfare and safety issues. Central to this transformation has been The Jockey Club’s Equine Injury Database (EID), a resource that has progressively shaped the landscape of horse racing since it was initially proposed in 2006.
The inception of the EID was marked by a crucial need within the U.S. horse racing industry to mitigate the number of injuries that racehorses sustained on the track – whether in training or a race – and examine what puts a horse at risk for a fatal injury. Due to high-profile racing incidents and increasing scrutiny from animal welfare activists and the public, The Jockey Club took a decisive step toward better understanding and reducing equine injuries and fatalities.
“It was in 2006 at the Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit that the idea for the EID was born, as discussion during the summit revealed a glaring gap – there wasn’t a reliable source of information to conduct research and understand injury or fatality rates in North America,” said Kristin Werner, senior counsel for The Jockey Club, who has worked on the EID since its inception. “This made it nearly impossible to find any valid information on how to address increases in injury prevention and make changes for the better for equine welfare.
“A critical element for the development of the EID and its effectiveness was fostering a collaborative environment among all industry stakeholders, including racetrack operators and regulatory veterinarians, and getting them to share their data,” said Werner. “It was important for us to get as close to 100% buy-in as possible, and to make this possible, we also ensured that data would be confidential and only national summary statistics would be published.”
Once The Jockey Club had its approach laid out, the pilot version of the EID began in June 2007 with paper reporting from participants. The effort was led by Dr. Mary Scollay, a veterinarian with more than 30 years of experience in horse racing. The EID’s pilot program ran from June 1, 2007, to July 12, 2008, whereby more than 3,000 injury reports were received and recorded. Collection included tracking the nature and circumstances surrounding each equine injury or fatality. Information such as the horse’s age, sex, pedigree, race history, track surface, and race conditions were also important.
Following the data collection, findings were presented to industry members during Dr. Scollay’s discussion at the 2008 Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit.
Dr. Scollay said in 2008, “The goal of the injury reporting project is threefold: to identify the frequency, type, and outcome of racing injuries using a standardized format that will generate valid composite statistics; to develop a centralized epidemiologic database that could be used to identify markers for horses at increased risk of injury; and to serve as a data source for research directed at improving safety and preventing injuries.”
Building off the foundation of the pilot EID, an effort was made to streamline the data collection process, and an electronic EID system was established in July 2008. This was developed by InCompass Solutions and The Jockey Club Technology Services, enabling veterinarians at participating racetracks to submit injury reports electronically, which eased the process for them as well as The Jockey Club. The first electronically sourced EID statistics were released in March 2010 and compiled data between Nov. 1, 2008, and Oct. 31, 2009.
When reviewing the data to make valid conclusions and to ensure the statistics it generated were reliable, The Jockey Club sought independent expertise beyond U.S. borders. In November 2008, the organization engaged Tim Parkin, Ph.D., a senior fellow in Clinical Research at the University of Glasgow. Dr. Parkin, along with his Ph.D. students, has been regularly engaged with The Jockey Club since and is recognized as one of the foremost experts in equine epidemiology.
“Since the start of the EID, we wanted others to know that the available data could be trusted without any bias,” said Werner. “This helped establish the EID as reputable and has allowed the EID to increase accountability since its launch.”
The EID has also paved the way for numerous industry safety initiatives, such as improved track maintenance data collection and the revision of race-day medication rules. Regulatory-focused changes have also stemmed from EID data, including void claim rules and pre-race veterinarian inspections, which have led to a proactive approach to equine health and safety.
This is important because the focus is not just on the numbers published annually, but rather on comprehensive research and how that data serves analysis to address injury reductions. The 2023 EID statistics were recently released, and data shows that efforts are working to decrease injuries.
For example, the “Rate of Racing-Related Fatality per Thousand Starts” for Thoroughbred horses has declined since 2009. In the 2009 calendar year, the rate was 2.00, but according to the EID, “the rate of fatal injury in 2023 was 1.32 per 1,000 starts, the second-lowest rate of fatal injury since the EID began publishing statistics in 2009. This is the fourth consecutive year that the rate of fatal injury has been below 1.5 fatalities per 1,000 race starts. The rate of fatal injury increased slightly from 2022, which has the lowest rate of incidence since 2009 of 1.25 fatalities per 1,000 starts.”
“It’s remarkable how the data and insights collected for the EID have really influenced horse safety through greater research and injury prevention,” said Werner.
Moving forward, The Jockey Club recognizes that the landscape of horse racing is changing, and greater attention is being placed on equine welfare throughout racing in the U.S. The EID will continue to be an important aspect of that landscape.