fatality

The first race on Friday's Black-Eyed Susan program at Laurel Park was marred by the death of first-time starter Hit Zero (Twirling Candy), who succumbed to an apparent cardiac event following the conclusion of the $35,000 maiden claimer, according to a statement from the Maryland Racing Commission. "The Equine Medical Director attended to Hit Zero and has initiated a full post-incident review consistent with Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) Equine Fatality Reporting Requirements," the statement said in part. "A necropsy will be conducted and a cause of death will...

I've read every HISA annual metrics report since the first one landed in 2024. All three of them. Cover to cover, footnotes included. And every year I've come away with the same feeling: something is missing. Not from the effort. The effort is real. HISA has built the most comprehensive equine health database in the history of American racing. Seven million veterinary treatment records. Treatment histories that follow horses across state lines for the first time. The infrastructure is extraordinary. What's been missing is statistical depth. Year after year, the...

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) published its 2025 Annual Metrics Report Tuesday which showed just 1.04 racing-related equine fatalities per 1,000 starts. The report notes that that number, which is "a sustained reduction from pre-HISA benchmarks", also marks a nearly 50% decline since reporting began nationally in 2009 by The Jockey Club's Equine Injury Database (EID). "Our mission is clear: to make Thoroughbred racing safer for horses and riders while safeguarding the integrity and future of the sport," said HISA CEO Lisa Lazarus. "The data contained in this...

First-time starter Setting Sun (Caravaggio), who was pulled up during the running of the ninth race at Saratoga Wednesday, has been euthanized according to a press release from NYRA Thursday. The note reads: "During the running of Race 9 on Wednesday, August 6 at Saratoga Race Course, the Miguel Clement-trained Setting Sun was pulled up by jockey Flavien Prat in the stretch run with an injury to the left front. The filly was immediately attended to by on-track veterinarians, who transported Setting Sun to Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital for...

Racing at Abu Dhabi was abandoned after an incident involving five horses in the Listed Abu Dhabi Championship, the Emirates Racing Authority (ERA) announced on Saturday afternoon. The race was the seventh of eight on the programme and won by  Stormy Ocean (GB) (Frankel {GB}) with Sam Hitchcott aboard for trainer Ahmad bin Harmash. The incident occurred near the 900-metre mark, with five jockeys being unseated from their mounts. Jockeys Tadhg O'Shea, Richard Mullen and Qais Al Busaidi were sent to the hospital to be evaluated, while Silvestre de Sousa...

On a day that was supposed to be a celebration of the Grade I Travers S., a pall was cast over Saturday's card at Saratoga when two horses broke down on the card and had to be euthanized. Including racing and training, they were the seventh and eighth equine deaths during racing at the meeting. Four horses have died during training. One Saturday fatality was on the turf, the other on the dirt. Both horses were ridden by Tyler Gaffalione. Travers Day continued a very difficult stretch for horse racing,...

Edited Press Release Pursuant to California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) Rule 1846.6, a Postmortem Examination Review (PER) was completed on the sudden death of Medina Spirit. This process takes place for every fatality occurring at a CHRB regulated facility and is performed by a team consisting of an Official Veterinarian, a safety steward, and a member of the Board of Stewards--in this case, Dr. Alina Vale, David Neusch (safety steward), and Kim Sawyer (steward). In all cases, the PER panel strives to learn the circumstances surrounding the fatality, which involves...