The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority's 2023 annual metrics report shows advances in the implementation of national uniform practices, the building up of the HISA Portal, which contains a broad spectrum of equine treatment and other health records, and driving collaboration and cooperation across the industry, the organization said in a release Wednesday.
“Our inaugural annual report reflects our journey toward a safer, fairer and more resilient future for horse racing,” said HISA CEO Lisa Lazarus. “The success of HISA's programs relies on steady partnership among the tracks, trainers, riders, owners, veterinarians and state regulators who comprise the sport. Only by working together can we make Thoroughbred racing safer for its equine and human athletes.”
The Annual Metrics Report provides stakeholders with key data collected in 2023 at 50 racetracks in 20 states as part of HISA's Racetrack Safety Program, which went into effect July 1, 2022.
Highlights of the report include: accreditation visits to 21 tracks last year; creation of a centralized online database of horses and people involved in the sport, enabling treatment records and other information to be accessed by racetracks and officials across the country; a racing participant registration, which as of Dec. 31, 2023, had registered approximately 33,000 Covered Persons, 55,000 Covered Horses and 1,000 veterinarians actively involved in the daily and specialized care of equine athletes.
Other highlights from the report:
Racetracks operating under HISA's rules reported 1.23 racing-related equine fatalities per 1,000 starts in 2023. That rate is down from the rate reported by The Jockey Club in its Equine Injury Database (EID) in 2022 (1.25 per 1,000 starts) and is lower than the national rate reported in The Jockey Club's 2023 EID (1.32 per 1,000 starts).
The Jockey Club's 2023 EID also shows that non-HISA tracks reported a rate of 1.63 racing-related equine fatalities per 1,000 starts.
In 2023, HISA reported 4.40 crop rule violations per 1,000 starts, which is down from 5.09 violations per 1,000 starts in 2022.
To read the complete report, click here.
The Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit (HIWU) is expected to release a separate annual report detailing metrics from the Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Program soon.
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