LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- 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.

The measures come after a meeting between track officials, veterinarians and horsemen based at Churchill Downs and its Trackside Learning Center Louisville. The meeting included a presentation by California-based equine surgeon Dr. Ryan Carpenter, who talked to horsemen about various education resources at their disposal.

It comes at the same time that the Horse Integrity and Safety Authority has convened an "emergency summit" with state, track and HISA veterinarians to try to better understand why Churchill experienced 12 horse fatalities in a month, and to make recommendations where necessary.

Thursday’s meeting at Churchill — and the resulting track measures — are entirely separate from that meeting.

Among the precautionary steps the track is taking immediately:

  • 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.

These additional initiatives will go into effect immediately. They are aimed at reducing incentives for trainers and horses to enter marginal horses into Churchill Downs races.

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.

"I did a lot of listening," trainer Brad Cox said. "I'm going to leave it at that. But you know, look, I think Churchill's trying to turn over every cord and and cross every T and dot every i. And, you know, it's been a lot of stuff happening over the last 2 weeks or since the meet began, and hopefully we are kind of coming to the end of this. It's tough to comment about, you know. I tell people I have enough on my plate, with regard to the horses I'm training. And I'm very happy with our staff and the program we have in place. You know, we've had no injuries, knock on wood. And hopefully we can keep it that way."

Cox said he has no complaints with the Churchill Downs surface or its safety team, led by equine director Dr. Will Farmer.

"The attending veterinarians and trainers at Churchill Downs are incredibly capable and knowledgeable," Farmer said. "We feel a duty to provide the latest information on surgical interventions from an expert who experienced the challenges in California a few years ago that we currently face today. Any decision must be made first and foremost with the long-term well-being of the horse in mind. It is imperative that all available, educated and informed options can be efficiently, confidently and thoroughly relayed to the owners."

HISA is expected to discuss the results of its veterinary summit when it concludes. It began on Tuesday, with Dennis Moore, a longtime track superintendent based in California, conducting an independent inspection of the Churchill Downs racing surfaces on Wednesday.

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