fatality rates
The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) released its Third Quarter Metrics Report for 2025 and the racing-related equine fatality rate was 1.02 fatalities per 1,000 starts, which translates to 99.90% of Thoroughbred racehorse starts occurred without a fatality within 72 hours of racing due to race-related injuries, according to a release from the regulator on Friday morning. The report provides detailed data on key safety metrics under HISA's Racetrack Safety Program, including racing-related and training-related equine fatalities, riding crop rule violations and scratches. Over the past 24 months, the...
The 2024-2025 race meeting at Turf Paradise in Phoenix, Arizona, concluded on Kentucky Derby day May 3 with the lowest ever fatality rate in the 69-year history of the track, according to a release. For the entire meet, the track recorded a fatality rate of 0.73 per 1,000 starts and from the beginning of 2025 through the end of the meet, post a rate of just 0.24. The 2024 Jockey Club national average was 1.11/1,000, while the 2024 HISA national average was 0.90/1,000, the release stated. "Such accomplishments come about...
Representatives from the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) and the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU) hosted a Town Hall Friday to dig down into the information issued in their recent annual reports and fatality metrics. One aim of the town hall, said HISA CEO Lisa Lazarus, was to publicly "look under the hood" of the fatality numbers to better understand how they're compiled. "How do we collect these metrics? What does the process look like? Why are we very confident that they are accurate?" said Lazarus. As much...
Tuesday's Jockey Club Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit identified seven "opportunities" for the industry to make a wholesale leap forward in equine safety and welfare standards. One of the seven was improved surface maintenance protocols. The better these protocols, the safer the track. Part of the universe of data disseminated throughout the summit was a breakdown of dirt surfaces into four climate groups. Researchers found the safest dirt tracks in hot dry climates (with an average 1.31 fatality rate per 1,000 starts). The dirt surfaces in climates with...