health

Diane Crump, the first female to ride a pari-mutuel race and also the first female to ride in the GI Kentucky Derby, passed away Thursday evening after battling an aggressive form of brain cancer. She was 77. The news was confirmed by Crump's family on social media Friday via her GoFundMe. According to Equibase, Crump rode only 228 winners in a career that spanned 1969 through 1988. But her mark on the sport goes well beyond the number of races she won. Female jockeys were widely rejected in the late...

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority and Onrise have partnered to provide nutritional coaching to the suite of confidential wellness services available to licensed jockeys at HISA racetracks through the Onrise platform, HISA announced Tuesday. Beginning this week, riders can access personalized nutrition support in both English and Spanish through the same Onrise telehealth system currently used for mental health and peer support services. "Introducing access to nutrition support is an exciting enhancement in HISA's partnership with Onrise," said HISA CEO Lisa Lazarus. "This addition empowers jockeys to better understand...

Delaware Park Casino, the Delaware Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, the Delaware Jockeys' Health and Welfare Benefit Fund and the Delaware Park Jockeys Association teamed up to donate $20,000 to the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund (PDJF), the organizations announced in a joint statement Saturday. Delaware Park has developed a unique funding mechanism for the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund donation as, over the course of the live racing season, each jockey donates a dollar from each mount fee. Delaware Park Casino, the Delaware Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association and the Delaware Jockeys' Health and Welfare...

A survey, focusing on the range of challenges around health, safety and sustainability that employers and key stakeholders face in the racing industry, was launched by Horse Racing Ireland (HRI)'s health and safety division along with the Irish Racehorse Trainers Association (IRTA) and the Irish Thoroughbred Breeders' Association (ITBA). The bespoke online survey, conducted by Red C Research & Marketing, will be anonymous and take 10 minutes to complete. A link to complete the survey will be sent to all industry employers and is also available through equuip's website and...

Before new student athletes at the University of Kentucky (UK) embark upon their collegiate sporting careers, they undergo a 2 1/2-hour battery of physical tests to determine a variety of factors, like the alacrity of their neuromotor and neurocognitive functions, their aerobic efficiency and their musculoskeletal health. The data generated from these tests can be used as a reference should one of these athletes get injured, as well as to help design protocols to reduce the likelihood of injury in the first place, said Scott Lephart, dean of UK's College...

The American Association of Equine Practitioners has introduced a multi-part initiative to protect the health and welfare of the racehorse and help ensure the long-term viability of the racing industry in the United States. The central component of the AAEP's Prescription for Racing Reform is the association's commitment to identifying non-race day treatment alternatives for exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage (EIPH). The AAEP Racing Committee developed the Prescription for Racing Reform, a 10-point plan designed to both protect the health of racing's equine athletes and strengthen the integrity of the sport. Key...