Major research projects are underway through a variety of funding sourcesMuch of what is known about Thoroughbreds and Thoroughbred racing stems from time-honored traditions handed down from one generation of horsemen to the next. Rubbing horses, feeding, and caring for most equine illnesses are essentially learned during hours spent with the animals, as well as with those who take care of them. However, the most significant findings and advances in medical procedures during the course of the last 50 years have come as a direct result of research conducted within the Thoroughbred industry.
Equine research, especially as it pertains to Thoroughbred racing, makes up a substantial portion of the large animal research currently conducted at universities across the world. Several organizations donate large sums of money to fund projects that will hopefully advance the industry by expanding its canon of knowledge. Among the most prestigious of these organizations is the Grayson-Jockey Club Foundation, headquartered in Lexington, Kentucky. For fiscal year 1995-'96, the Grayson-Jockey Club approved a record $658,329 in funding, an increase of more than $50,000 over the previous record set in 1994-'95. This amount, augmented for the second consecutive year by the Chrysler Corporation, will finance 18 projects at eight universities across the United States.
"We are the leader in dollars spent among privately funded organizations," said Edward L. Bowen, president of the Grayson-Jockey Club Foundation. "Of course, situations like ours, where we manage the money, raise funds, and assign it to specific projects, can only work if there are great universities out there."
The administrative structure of the Grayson-Jockey Club is typical of most foundations. It has a Scientific Advisory Committee, comprised of eight university researchers, and a second separate committee of 17 practicing veterinarians. These groups work cooperatively to review and judge all applications on a number of criteria. The committees then make their recommendations to Bowen, who again considers the applications and what funding may be available for each. From there, the applications go on to the board of directors for final consideration, as they have the final power of approval.
Bowen said that Grayson-Jockey Club funds go directly towards research, a luxury compared to other funding organizations that must finance professor salaries, overhead, and material expenses.
"(As a private organization) we have the luxury of being able to target all our dollars for research," Bowen said. "Of course, the private sector bears more responsibility for equine research because it isn't going to receive a whole lot of government support; it has to come out of a concern by individuals."
The Grayson-Jockey Club Foundation receives a great deal of financing from contributions made by Thoroughbred groups and individuals within the industry. According to Bowen, fundraising is a matter of constantly contacting constituencies and trying to solicit their support, much like a salesman. A consistent source of revenue is donations from racetracks, many of who have special programs annually to generate funds for the foundation, using a variety of formats.
"We have had some racetracks assigning us a percentage of the on-track mutuel handle, such as Turf Paradise," Bowen said. "You go to other tracks with that approach and it doesn't fit into their plans. We have had some tracks that were amenable to assigning a percentage of admissions for a certain day. Recently (during its Breeders' Cup preview day on October 7), NYRA (New York Racing Association) stepped up on our behalf and solicited funding from their employees, owners, and patrons. They also had jockeys that were willing to sign autographs to sell for donations. It is nice to get that type of recognition and support."

Safe return
At $61,546, a study undertaken by a team of Ohio State University researchers is currently the highest-funded research project approved for Grayson-Jockey funds. Dr. John Hubbell leads the project, which is attempting to determine the safest way to return Thoroughbreds to a resting state immediately after strenuous exercise, i.e., racing. A hurt racehorse usually worsens its condition during the excited and frightened state following an injury, often taking away any hope for remedy and survival. Hubbell hopes to identify ways to calm injured horses and return them to a relaxed state, giving horsemen the opportunity to tend to the injury and save more racehorses.
"When you run a race, the horse is (worked up) for a period of time, then brought back down to resting conditions after a 90-minute to two-hour period," Hubbell said. "(Cooling out a horse) usually involves walking at some point. The goal of the first year is to find out what happens if you don't allow them to walk after a period of exercise. (That condition) sort of simulates a horse that has been injured at the racetrack and has to stand there and not move around."
Hubbell believes information obtained from this first year of study will provide the basis for future study to determine which anesthetic and tranquilizing agents will produce the least effects in that period immediately after exercise.
"Our overall goal is to design an anesthetic protocol that one can use in horses that have become injured and that can't move around. You have to be able to take them from their excited state, immediately post-injury when they're all keyed up and dancing around, and tranquilize them for their own protection."
Another study currently receiving Grayson-Jockey Club funds is one at the New Bolton Center at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Dr. Ray Boston leads a team of researchers trying to identify the cause of bucked shins so training schedules can be modified to prevent the injury from occurring.
"Over 90% of two-year-old Thoroughbreds buck their shins," Boston said. "That can put them out for good or for periods of up to ten weeks. It's a multimillion-dollar cost to the racing industry. If there is any way in which we can nurture and prepare young horses for their careers, then we have every obligation to attempt to find that."

Other projects
Several other universities are presently conducting research on topics of great importance to horsemen in general, particularly those involved with Thoroughbreds. Dr. Alan Nixon at Cornell University is working on the healing of extensive cartilage defects in horses; Dr. Ernest Bailey at the University of Kentucky is comprising a gene map of the horse; and Dr. Stephanie Valberg leads a team of researchers at the University of Minnesota examining the skeletal muscle excitation-contraction coupling defect known as tying-up.
The Grayson-Jockey Club is not the only organization supplying funds for equine research. National groups such as the Morris Animal Foundation, the American Quarter Horse Association, and the American Association of Equine Practitioners also fund research programs within the Thoroughbred industry. The United States Department of Agriculture regularly bestows grants for equine research, though they do not designate a portion of any annual budget. Also, many veterinary clinics conduct ongoing studies at their own expense. All these groups provide substantial funding for research projects in the U.S. However, most professors agree that the greatest source of research funding comes from the individual universities themselves.
Dr. David Nunamaker is the Jacques Jenny Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at the University of Pennsylvania's New Bolton Center, one of the premier research facilities in the world. He contends that many of the advancements in the Thoroughbred industry are a direct result of equine research.
"There has been a great deal that has happened in equine research," Nunamaker said. "Certainly in infectious diseases, vaccination, and the discovery of diseases ... such as EPM (equine protozoal myelitis) are related to efforts in research. Consider orthopedics. Twenty years ago, there were probably twice as many horses being killed, but (because of) techniques that are now available, that has all changed. In general, if you think what has been put into national equine projects, it is amazing that so much has happened for the little bit of money that has been invested in researching horses."
With so much money coming from the private sector, one might be wary of research teams that have been formed to study facets of the industry specifically designed to benefit certain contributors. Bowen does not see that as a problem. The Grayson-Jockey Club Foundation accepts donations for specific topics, but all projects must be approved on their own merit and scientific methodology and must be relevant to some aspect of the equine world.
"We don't have any problem with people wanting to fund research for a specific problem," Bowen said. "I think scientists refer to it as research by invitation. What we have to safeguard is our procedures and making sure it is good science. All these projects that come in have to undergo the same scientific scrutiny."
Equine researchers are split on what future research will uncover. Many believe it will focus on knowledge to improve racetrack safety for horses and humans, and others predict an influx in consumer responsive research. One thing is for sure, however: Research will continue.
"What is the alternative?" Boston said. "Research encapsulates the objective scientific message. To objectively explore ideas and hypotheses and test and evaluate these without subjective intervention ... is the basic premise of the scientific message that good science speaks to. Where would we be without it?"