By T. D. Thornton
The requirement of an emergency warning system consisting of lights and sirens on all racing and training tracks has been included in the most recent update of the Association of Racing Commissioners International (ARCI) Model Rules of Racing.
The development of model rules, standards, and best practices is an ongoing project of ARCI member agencies. The changes to the most recent version (6.1) of the “living document” were released in an industry-wide email memo from Steve May, the ARCI vice president and business manager, on Tuesday.
Other changes to Model Rules 6.1 include an update to safety helmet standards. In addition, the ARCI board of directors recently voted in support of changes regarding medical labeling, although the medical labeling guidelines will remain open to public comment prior to final inclusion in the ARCI Model Rules.
According to the new section ARCI-007-020 (M), “The emergency warning system shall consist of lights and sirens on every black and white sixteenth pole inside the main track, and where applicable, on main horse paths and entrances (gaps) that are used during morning exercising by horsemen to enter the training surface.
“During workouts, both lights and sirens shall be used simultaneously. When a warning system is activated, those working, galloping, or ponying horses shall slow down and no one on horseback shall enter the affected track.
“During a race, lights and sirens shall be used independently. Only the lights shall be used to warn jockeys or a loose or injured horse, or other situation(s) where the race shall continue, but caution must be exercised. If the race is aborted, sirens shall also be used and the jockeys shall immediately slow their horses.”
The ARCI new model rule does not stipulate where or by whom the emergency warning system shall be activated.
In a Dec. 13, 2014, race at Charles Town, one horse was euthanized after a wrong-way collision. The track was equipped with a warning system, but it was not activated in a timely manner because the mechanism to activate it was not, at that time, located in the stewards' stand. According to published reports, Charles Town re-wired the system within days of the accident so the switch could be activated directly by the stewards.
Although it is not as specific as the new ARCI model rule, the NTRA Safety and Integrity Alliance Code of Standards requires accredited tracks to have an “operable on-track warning system” that is “designed to sufficiently alert and provide notice to personnel on the racetrack.”
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