HISA releases findings from Saratoga injury investigation

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority released a report Monday detailing the findings of its review of the circumstances surrounding the 14 training- and racing-related fatalities that took place during the 2023 Saratoga meet.

The review did not find a single, isolated cause for the injuries. The report pointed out several factors that may have contributed to the injuries as well as ways HISA could follow up on those findings. Though the uptick in rain could not be clearly connected to the injuries, HISA plans to continue collecting and analyzing track-surface data to study the effects of weather.

The report also noted that 11 of the 12 fatal musculoskeletal injuries happened on the fetlock joint, and that three of the 11 horses with fatal fetlock injuries had gotten injections in the previous 30 days before their injury. A proposed HISA rule change would prohibit fetlock injections within 30 days of a race, extending it from a 14-day window and putting it in line with a rule that was in effect in California before HISA.

The review of the exercise histories of the fatally injured horses also showed a correlation between injuries and increased high-speed exercise frequency and distance. An appendix to the report includes detailed information that plots the frequency and distance of published workouts for each horse who suffered a musculoskeletal injury against control horses of similar age, sex and class.

HISA also noted in the report that it had developed, in partnership with Palantir Technologies, a data-analytics tool to flag horses who may be at risk for injury. The report did not note a date or time frame for this tool to be implemented.

The report was researched and compiled as part of HISA’s initiatives and reforms aimed at reducing equine fatalities, which were announced in September 2023.