by Don Clippinger

Addressing a horse safety and welfare panel of the National Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Committee, Scott Palmer, V.M.D., on Friday urged a core value change for racing that puts the horse first and foremost.
 
“If we take care of the horse, the industry will follow,” said Palmer, past president of the American Association of Equine Practitioners. “If we don’t take care of the horse, we go down the tubes.”

Palmer, owner of the New Jersey Equine Clinic in Millstone Township, was part of a blue-ribbon panel on the health and safety issues that kicked off the first day of the National HBPA summer meeting in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

Safety issues have moved to the forefront in the industry since the death of Eight Belles following her second-place finish in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) on May 3 and subsequent hearings on federal regulation of horse racing.

National Thoroughbred Racing Association President Alex Waldrop, a panel member, called attention to the statistic that approximately 1,000 horses die each year on the racetrack.

“The status quo is unacceptable,” he said. “That statistic will not go away. We cannot explain it away.”

American Horse Council President Jay Hickey opened the session by comparing the conditions that accompanied a proposed Corrupt Horseracing Practices Act of 1982 and the current situation. He pointed out several similarities between the two events, with one significant difference.

In 1982, public opinion on the issue was not particularly strong, but today a large percentage of the population is not committed to the continuation of horse racing.

“We’re clearly at this crossroads again,” he said.

In his presentation on the veterinary aspects, Palmer urged that owners and trainers take personal responsibility for their horses and that recently proposed safety rules, including a ban on steroids, be adopted.

He also proposed a ban on breezing of horses pointing toward two-year-olds in training sales.

“That brilliant workout at the sale may in fact be the best work that horse will ever accomplish.” Palmer said. “Some horses purchased at these auctions cannot train for months after the sale because of their need to recover from the physical stress of the sales-preparation process.”

He also said that year-round racing stresses the horse and suggested a racing schedule that provides rest for the athletes.

Ed Martin, president of the Association of Racing Commissioners International, noted that many of the panelists—including Grayson-Jockey Club President Ed Bowen and himself—and the horsemen were not part of the congressional hearings orchestrated by U.S. Representative Ed Whitfield (R-Kentucky).

Many of the ingredients for making racing safer, including synthetic racetracks, model rules on medications, and the work of the Racing Safety and Welfare Summit—have been proposed.

“All the pieces are on the table,” he’ said. “All of us are committed to make those pieces work for the benefit of the sport.

Nick Nicholson, president of Keeneland Race Course, noted one area that would improve safety immediately is to improve the starting gate. Keeneland began experimenting with increased padding in 2001, and Nicholson wondered why other tracks did not adopt the safety measures.

He found that most starting gates are leased by the tracks, and the lease provisions call for any improvements to be paid for by the starting gate owner.

“There hasn’t been any improvement for 50 years or more,” he said. “That is something we have to start looking at. With all the technology we have, surely we can find a way to improve how we start Thoroughbred races.”

Don Clippinger is editorial director of Thoroughbred Times