Study: Voided claim rules lower rate of racing-related equine deaths

A study of data collected via The Jockey Club Equine Injury Database found there are significantly fewer catastrophic injuries in claiming races at jurisdictions with “voided claim” rules in effect.

Tim Parkin, a professor of clinical equine sciences at the University of Glasgow, provided the results of the study Tuesday during a webinar hosted by The Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation. Also providing insight on the webinar was Mary Scollay, executive director of the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium; and Kristen Werner, senior counsel for The Jockey Club.

According to Parkin’s findings, in claiming races in jurisdictions without a voided claim rule there were about 2.2 equine deaths per 1,000 starts. In those jurisdictions where the rule is in place, there were approximately 1.6 fatalities per 1,000 starts. 

“That is statistically significant,” Parkin said. 

A voided claim rule, which is in place in California and other jurisdictions, allows a claim to be voided if a horse does not come out of the race sound and healthy. Parkin believes the rule is something that should be pursued throughout the sport.

“There’s no evidence the introduction of a void claim rule will cause any harm and I would encourage the greater use of these rules,” Parkin said. 

The study mined an array of data points from the Equine Injury Database, which was created in 2009 and includes 99% of all race days in North America.

The safety reforms that have emerged from data collected by the EID seem to be paying dividends. Last year, the EID recorded 1.53 catastrophic injuries per 1,000 starts in North America. In the EID’s first year, 2009, there were 2.0 fatal injuries per 1,000 starts.

Scollay pointed out that in 2019, 99.84% of flat racing starts in North America were completed without a fatality. 

“We have successfully and consistently reduced our injury occurrence,” Scollay said. 

Parkin said it's important these positive developments are known. 

"Racing has gotten a real bashing and we have to get this message across of the significant improvement," Parkin said. 

The study also examined the relationship between shockwave therapy and catastrophic injury. It found horses that had received shockwave therapy at some point had a 50% to 80% greater chance of suffering a fatal injury.

Among horses that had received no shockwave therapy, there was approximately one death per 1,000 starts. That number rose to 1.6 per 1,000 starts for horses that had at some point received shockwave therapy.

Other topics Parkin touched on was the relationship between the risk of catastrophic injury and the age of a horse during his first start; time spent on the vet's list; changing trainers and time spent with a trainer; and track surface/condition and race distance. 

You can view the entire webinar on the Grayson's Youtube channel below.