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MARCH 27, 2019 - Concluding
more than a year of regional discussion, study, review and consultation, the
entire Mid-Atlantic region’s Thoroughbred racing industry, on March 21, 2019,
voted unanimously to formally adopt and fully implement a long-term and forward
thinking Mid-Atlantic Strategic Plan to Reduce Equine Fatalities. All of the
region’s race track operators, horsemen’s organizations, breeders’
organizations, racing commissions and regulatory and racetrack veterinarians
participated in the preparation of the Plan. Many phases of the Plan are
already in practice stemming from the 2012 New York Task Force Report on Race
Horse Health and Safety, which initially served as the model for regional and
national industry reform. Since regional implementation of the Task Force’s
recommendations, and many others since that time, the incidence of equine racing
fatalities in the Mid-Atlantic region has declined 29%. In New York alone, the
incidence of equine racing fatalities in 2018 was 1.29/1000 starts, the lowest
fatality rate in the State in decades and well below the national average of
1.68/1000 starts.
The
Plan, drafted by New York State Gaming Commission Equine Medical Director and
New York Task Force Chairman Dr. Scott Palmer, former AAEP Presidents and
regional veterinarians Dr. Kathy Anderson and Dr. Reynolds Cowles, and THA
Chairman and New York Task Force member Alan Foreman, incorporates five key
goals, including the establishment of regional safety best practices, improved methods to identify horses at
increased risk of injury, the implementation of protective factors to reduce
the risk of injury, information sharing and communication, and improvement of
the general health and welfare of the horse. The participants will use
evidence-based decision making to ensure the integrity of the process at every
level. The Plan is intended to be a living document, with new strategies and
practices implemented throughout the region as they become available.
The
introduction to the Strategic Plan explains, “The conscientious use of risk
management techniques, including the introduction of protective factors, have
been proven to be successful in reducing the risk of injury to racehorses. However, the use of risk management programs
is not uniformly practiced across all racing jurisdictions. The development of a strategic plan to reduce
equine fatalities in the Mid-Atlantic region is an effort to develop and share
regional best practices and communication tools that can be used to minimize
equine fatalities on a broad scale.”
A copy of the Plan is available here: | |