by Frank Angst

According to revised statistics from the Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit, synthetic track surfaces are showing reduced catastrophic injury rates compared to dirt surfaces.

On March 17, Mary Scollay, association veterinarian at Calder Race Course and Gulfstream Park, presented some early statistics from an injury database.

Scollay initially reported that in races through February 1, dirt tracks saw 1.97 fatalities per 1,000 starts while synthetic tracks saw nearly an identical rate of 1.95 fatalities per 1,000 starts. In revised stats released by the Summit on Thursday, the rate of synthetic fatalities dropped 24.6% and the dirt fatality rate increased 3%.

“I would like to report that after a thorough review, the fatality rates I reported at the summit last month should have been 1.47 fatalities per 1,000 starts for synthetic surfaces and 2.03 fatalities per 1,000 starts for dirt tracks,” Scollay said.

InCompass Solutions has developed technology that allows track veterinarians to electronically submit injury reports from 48 currently participating tracks. The program is based on an injury reporting system developed by Scollay.

A review of the injury rates presented at the Summit established that the initial catastrophic injury reports actually covered longer periods of time with more races and total starts.

Scollay said the rates presented at the Summit included just 34 racetracks and represent less than a year of study.

“Therefore, it is important to remember that these fatality rates are just a snapshot in time from a less than statistically significant number of tracks and cannot be considered scientifically conclusive at this point,” Scollay said.

The Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit is underwritten by the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation and The Jockey Club. Bob Curran Jr., Jockey Club Vice President of Corporate Communications, said more reports are needed.

“We will consider the release of updated statistics once we have a comprehensive set of injury reports from a majority of the tracks in this country over a statistically significant period of time,” Curran said. “It will probably not be this year.”

After more statistics are gathered, Scollay is confident the research will pay dividends.

“As we said when this project was announced in May 2007, 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,” Scollay said. “I am proud of what the On-Track Injury Reporting System has accomplished to date and I sincerely believe that the continued collection of this information is vital for the industry.”

Frank Angst is a Thoroughbred Times senior writer