safety

Public confidence isn't lost in a day. It erodes when we're silent, scattered, or slow to respond. That stops now. At Light Up Racing, we believe the future of this sport depends not just on how we react in moments of crisis, but on how we prepare for them. The Thoroughbred industry has an opportunity and a responsibility to lead with foresight, speak with clarity, and act with purpose before public trust is tested again. That's why Light Up Racing is launching a national pilot to strengthen the industry's crisis...

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...

The six-month Winter/Spring meeting at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California, closed Sunday, June 15, with 'encouraging' gains in handle, field size and on-track attendance, according to a release from the track. With over 6,800 horses having raced during the meet and more than 375,000 training sessions on the main and synthetic tracks having taken place, track officials report a safety mark of 99.98%, cementing its status as the safest track in North America among those with a comparable volume of racing and training. "This year was a transitional one...

Last week, I witnessed firsthand the career-saving and even life-saving potential of the StrideSAFE sensor technology--and I feel a responsibility to share what happened. A stakes-level horse in our barn was flagged by StrideSAFE after showing a dramatic rise in injury risk in the right front leg over its two most recent races. A barn exam by our veterinarian showed no obvious lameness or inflammation. But based on the compelling StrideSAFE data, we took the next step and scheduled advanced imaging. The PET scan results--confirmed by two separate equine hospitals--showed...

The longtime director of communications at Keeneland, Amy Gregory, has announced her retirement from the Kentucky icon effective June 1, the track shared via press release Monday afternoon. Gregory joined Keeneland in 2006 and was named to her current position in 2013. She will continue to provide support during race meets and sales and consult on special projects. As director, Gregory oversaw media and public relations for the Spring and Fall meets as well as the auctions and held key roles in brand enhancement and messaging. On the auction side,...

Light Up Racing continues to respond to the New York Times piece on horse racing written last week. In an email to members Monday, the organization encouraged positive action such as writing letters to local newspapers and talking about safety advancements on social media platforms. In their Letter to the Editor, Light Up Racing writes in part: "Long before the Super Bowl or the World Series, horse racing was America's first great sporting event. It has brought people and horses together for generations, shaping the cultural and economic fabric of...

Light Up Racing is pushing back against a New York Times article on horse racing with a message sent to its members Friday. The message reads in part: "A new New York Times article on horse racing has been published, and unfortunately, it follows a familiar pattern: misleading claims, outdated narratives, and a failure to acknowledge the industry's real progress. They frame the industry as reliant on subsidies while overlooking the hundreds of millions it contributes in tax revenue. They call racing a dying sport but ignore the record Kentucky...

The Jockey Club will invest more than $6 million to support initiatives such as equine safety and aftercare, industry growth, promotion of the sport, education, and national and international collaboration as part of its Industry Impact Report released Wednesday. "We are proud of the many initiatives we support and that The Jockey Club's mission has not wavered in more than 130 years," said The Jockey Club's President and COO James L. Gagliano. "It is so encouraging to see how many other organizations are committed to improving and growing Thoroughbred racing,...

With further evaluation of the racing surface still ongoing, racing at Laurel Park this weekend has been canceled, the Maryland Jockey Club announced Friday. Laurel also canceled Friday's card before the opener after speaking with jockeys regarding main track safety concerns following overnight snow and afternoon rain. Nine races were scheduled for Saturday including a trio of $100,000 stakes, and eight races were scheduled for Sunday at Laurel. Laurel will remain open during its normal morning training hours for galloping and jogging. The 6 1/2-furlong Willa On the Move, the...

On the eve of the start of the 2024-25 racing season at Turf Paradise, track management announced late on Friday that Saturday's opening day card has been called off. "In order to address some final track maintenance issues, there will be no live racing at Turf Paradise on Saturday," the track's social media feed on X stated late in the day Nov. 1. The news comes on the heels of a Thursday recommendation by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) that the Arizona track-which has a well-documented recent history...

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...

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) will hold a pair of educational webinars ahead of upcoming rule changes that will go into effect July 8. The first, aimed towards trainers, will take place Monday, July 1 at 2 p.m. and will cover the impact of the modified rules along with a Q&A on the changes. To register and/or submit questions, click here. The HISA Town Hall series will continue with a one-hour webinar Monday, July 8 at 2 p.m. and will also include an overview on the major rule...