by Frank Angst

The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission voted to outlaw all but the shortest front toe grabs at its meeting Monday at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington.

The commission adopted the standard recommended by the Jockey Club’s Thoroughbred Safety Committee limiting the length of front toe grabs to two millimeters. The standard is even stricter than the length permitted in an Association of Racing Commissioners International model rule, although that model rule could be adjusted to the Jockey Club standard when the RCI Model Rules Committee meets in August.

Lisa Underwood, the Kentucky commission’s executive director, said the rule would be forwarded to the Kentucky General Assembly. It could be approved by this fall.

Elizabeth (Betsy) Lavin, of the commission’s equine health and safety committee, recommended the change, noting studies have shown long toe grabs halt a Thoroughbred’s natural action, which produces some forward slide each time a front foot lands. Because toe grabs halt that action, studies have shown they put stress on the cannon bone.

Studies presented at the Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit also showed that just in wearing the shoes, stress is produced when a horse is standing.

Chief Steward and retired trainer John Veitch said toe grabs can help some horses gain traction on certain tracks, but he said the negatives of toe grabs outweigh the positives.

“A lot of these came into use when tracks were less manicured,” Veitch said. “They’re great on certain types of horses—horses pulling a wagon for instance … but they’re not good for horses running 40 miles per hour.”

Racing Hall of Fame jockey Chris McCarron said toe grabs increase the chance that horses will fall if they clip heels because the grabs can catch when contact occurs. He said most international jurisdictions do not allow toe grabs, and he did not think racing was adversely affected.

Lavin said the two millimeter maximum length would apply to all surfaces and be in effect for racing and training.

In other commission news on Monday:

* Owners, trainers, and jockeys will see their licensing fees increase from $100 to $150 in 2009.

* Turfway Park was approved to host an exhibition race featuring seven riders from the North American Racing Academy. Also, Turfway was approved to host a Quarter Horse race in September. It will be the first Quarter Horse race conducted on a synthetic surface. Also, Turfway was approved to add the Super High Five wager.

* Kentucky Downs received approval to conduct two steeplechase races at its 2008 meeting.

Frank Angst is senior writer for Thoroughbred Times