LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Churchill Downs will move the remainder of its spring meet to Ellis Park in Henderson, Kentucky, in response to a string of 12 horse deaths in 30 days at the historic racetrack.
After the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) convened an "emergency summit" earlier this week with state and track veterinarians, HISA said Thursday it found "no obvious or specific pattern" with the deaths. But Churchill Downs officials said Friday it "elected to relocate the meet in order to conduct a top-to-bottom review of all safety and surface protocols and integrity measures in collaboration and consultation with nationwide experts."
HISA said in a news release Friday evening that it recommended the move "to allow for additional comprehensive investigations into the cause of recent equine fatalities at the track." Churchill "accepted this recommendation," HISA said.
The spring meet at Churchill Downs will end after the final race Sunday, June 4, and begin at Ellis Park on Saturday, June 10.
"The team at Churchill Downs takes great pride in our commitment to safety and strives to set the highest standard in racing, consistently going above and beyond the regulations and policies that are required," Bill Carstanjen, CEO of Churchill Downs Inc., said in a news release Friday. "What has happened at our track is deeply upsetting and absolutely unacceptable. Despite our best efforts to identify a cause for the recent horse injuries, and though no issues have been linked to our racing surfaces or environment at Churchill Downs, we need to take more time to conduct a top-to-bottom review of all of the details and circumstances so that we can further strengthen our surface, safety and integrity protocols."
HISA also commissioned an independent study of the Churchill Downs racetrack itself. Dennis Moore, a longtime track superintendent from California, began that review Wednesday, and HISA said Friday that Moore found there to be "no primary areas for concern and has verified that the various track metrics analyzed are consistent with previous years."
Below were the findings of the track assessment:
- Cushioning: The consistency of the track was measured at every 1/8th Pole on the inside and outside racing lanes by RSTL using the Orono Biomechanical Surface Tester (OBST). The findings found the track was consistent at the various measurement points around the track and compared to previous pre-race meet inspections performed by RSTL.
- Cushion Layer: Data that was collected by RSTL's ground penetrating radar (GPR), which measures up to depths of one and half feet deep, similarly did not identify any anomalies or causes for concern.
- Daily Measurements: Moore verified Churchill Downs' daily measurements and RSTL's pre-meet inspection, which included a time-domain reflectometer (TDR) moisture reading instrument to measure the moisture and manual probing for cushion depth. He reported that the track was within the expected measurement ranges around the track and as compared to previous years.
- Surface Grade: Moore and RSTL performed surface grade measurements together to verify the percent crossfall of surface was similar to the pre-meet inspection performed by RSTL.
- Composition: The dirt's surface samples collected at multiple locations around the track were sent to RSTL's laboratory in Lexington, KY and returned consistent with previous years.
"HISA's highest priority is the safety and wellbeing of equine and human athletes competing under our jurisdiction," HISA CEO Lisa Lazarus said in a news release Friday. "Given that we have been so far unable to draw conclusions about the cause of the recent equine fatalities at Churchill Downs, and therefore have been unable to recommend or require interventions that we felt would adequately ensure the safety of the horses running there, we made the decision to recommend to CDI that they temporarily suspend racing at Churchill Downs while additional reviews continue. We know that CDI and the KHRC share our goal of ensuring safety above all else, and we appreciate their thoughtfulness and cooperation through these challenging moments. We will continue to seek answers and work with everyone involved to ensure that horses are running safely at Churchill Downs again in the near future."
On Thursday, Churchill Downs announced a new set of precautionary safety measures aimed at making sure horses are not over-raced while taking away some financial incentives for trainers to enter less competitive performers:
- Bonus Pause/Purse Reallocation: A pause of track-based incentives such as trainer start bonuses and purse pay-out allocations to every race finisher through last place. Purse pay-outs will now be limited to the top five finishers. Churchill Downs is engaged in ongoing discussions with horsemen to determine ways to reallocate these funds to best serve industry needs.
- Start Limit: Restricting the number of starts per horse to four starts during a rolling eight-week period.
- Performance Standards: Ineligibility standards for poor performance. Horses that are beaten by more than 12 lengths in five consecutive starts will be ineligible to race at Churchill Downs until approved by the Equine Medical Director to return.
The additional initiatives went effect immediately, aimed at reducing incentives for trainers and horses to enter marginal horses into races. Churchill Downs said the three measures above will remain in effect for the remainder of the spring meet at Ellis Park.
"In addition to our commitment to providing the safest racing environment for our participants, we have an immense responsibility as the economic engine of the Thoroughbred industry in Kentucky which provides jobs and income for thousands of families every day,” Carstanjen said in a news release Friday. "By relocating the remainder of the meet to Ellis Park, we are able to maintain this industry ecosystem with only minor disruption. We are grateful to the Kentucky horsemen for their support, resiliency and continued partnership as we collectively work to find answers during this time."
Ellis Park in Henderson, Kentucky.
That motivation has been called into question over the past two fatalities at Churchill, both of 7-year-old horses who had been heavily raced without showing progress in races. The last of those, Kimberley Dream, was a 7-year-old mare making her 62nd career starts after a string of distant losses earlier this year.
Sources said Thursday's meeting with trainers was contentious at times, given the change in purse money structures away from horses who don't finish as well.
And later Thursday, HISA added the following protections after what it termed a "robust discussion of three different points of intervention ... injury management, preventing at-risk horses from racing via veterinary scrutiny and preventing at-risk horses from entering":
- Post-Entry Screening: HISA's Director of Equine Safety will conduct an additional layer of screening after entries are taken to identify horses that may be at increased risk for injury. The review will include past performances, layoffs of more than 60 days without a timed work or race, medical history from the past 30 days, previous injury, injections, previous surgeries or other factors.
- Investigating Fatalities: HISA will collect blood and hair samples from all horses who die at the track, and will use the data to track relevant statistics and trends.
- Specialist: HISA has appointed an equine forensics specialist, Dr. Alina Vale, to conduct an additional review of all necropsies of deceased horses from Churchill once they have been completed.
"HISA continues to urgently seek additional answers to more clearly identify the causes of these recent fatalities as well as tangible interventions to prevent them in the future," a statement from the group read Thursday. "All options remains on the table, and HISA will continue to vigorously monitor events at Churchill Downs moving forward."
Below is a list of the horses who've died since just before the start of the spring meet:
- April 27, Wild on Ice, "injured, euthanized"
- April 29, Code of Kings, "flipped multiple times (in paddock), broke neck"
- April 29, Parents Pride, "collapsed and died"
- May 2, Take Charge Briana, "fell; euthanized"
- May 2, Chasing Artie, "collapsed and died"
- May 6, Chloe's Dream, "went wrong; fractured knee"
- May 6, Freezing Point, "went wrong; multiple fractures"
- May 13, Bosque Redondo, "injured, vanned off, euthanized"
- May 14, Rio Moon, "leg fracture; euthanized on track"
- May 20, Swanson Lake, "injured, vanned off, euthanized"
- May 26, Lost in Limbo, "injured, vanned off, euthanized"
- May 27, Kimberley Dream, "ligament rupture to front leg, euthanized"
Churchill Downs Inc. purchased Ellis Park in September 2022 for $79 million in cash.
Related Stories:
- HISA 'emergency summit' finds no pattern in Churchill horse deaths, adds safety measures
- After meeting with horsemen, Churchill Downs announces new safety measures
- Horse death in Churchill's first race Saturday, the track's 12th in a month, prompts statement
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