By Daniel Ross
A representative of the Horse Racing Integrity Act's (HISA) Racetrack Safety Team has been on the grounds at Mountaineer Park in West Virginia this past week–at a time when the track is experiencing an ongoing chronic shortage of attending, association and regulatory veterinarians, according to observers.
According to Jami Poole, president of the Mountaineer Horseman's Benevolent and Protective Association (MHBPA), there is often no veterinarian on the facility's grounds during training hours.
“I'm not pleased about the vet situation here in the morning time,” said Poole, who estimated that training is conducted at Mountaineer for about 50% of the time without a veterinarian on the grounds to ensure that any potentially stricken horse is attended to immediately.
Poole declined to answer when asked if the veterinary shortage at Mountaineer has led to any instances of horses' welfare put in jeopardy.
One unnamed source, however–who asked to remain anonymous for fear of professional reprisal–said that the lack of a veterinarian on the grounds during training has led to one instance, which occurred about two months ago, of an injured horse remaining unattended for a prolonged period of time.
“The horse broke down at around 8:30 in the morning,” said the source. The nearest veterinarian was around 30 minutes away, according to two other sources.
According to Lori Bohenko, the West Virginia Racing Commission's (WVRC) regulatory veterinarian at Mountaineer, there have been two fatalities during morning training at Mountaineer this year. The other, Bohenko said, was a sudden death for which she was present on the track.
The veterinary shortage during training, said Poole, has been ongoing since the start of the year. Curiously, neither the WVRC nor HISA requires a racing association like Mountaineer to maintain a veterinarian presence during training hours.
“Many tracks exceed the current HISA regulations to provide veterinary coverage whenever horses are on the racetrack, and HISA strongly encourages the few that do not provide this care to re-examine their practices and do everything possible to ensure veterinary care is available at all times,” wrote HISA director of racetrack safety Ann McGovern in emailed answers to a series of questions.
McGovern added that the HISA Racetrack Safety representative who visited Mountaineer was working with track management “to provide support and help bring Mountaineer into compliance with HISA's Racetrack Safety standards.”
A dearth of veterinarians at Mountaineer raises equine welfare concerns in other ways, according to those on the grounds.
Aside from no association veterinarians at Mountaineer, Poole said that there was only one full-time attending veterinarian for the entire backstretch–what sources estimate to be typically between 400 and 600 horses.
There should, said Poole, be at least two full-time attending veterinarians for the backstretch. “Good if we had four,” he said, adding that a veterinarian from Texas has expressed interest in working at Mountaineer next year. “I hope she doesn't change her mind,” he said.
Furthermore, the lone regulatory veterinarian who conducts pre-race examinations is sometimes late to the facility due to conflicting work commitments, Poole said. This has occasionally led to pre-race examinations being conducted in the paddock, immediately before a race, he said.
“It's happened probably three times,” said Poole, adding that the sheer workload at Mountaineer was too large for just one regulatory veterinarian. “We couldn't do without her, so you've got to work around her schedule, too,” said Poole, about Bohenko.
The WVRC's other regulatory veterinarian for Mountaineer, Jon Day, retired this past May.
Poole said that he has repeatedly alerted the WVRC, Mountaineer track management and HISA to the veterinary shortage at the track.
The WVRC executive director Joe Moore, did not dispute Poole's claims. “The Racing Commission is aware of the shortage of racetrack veterinarians, not only in WV, but across the country,” wrote Moore, highlighting an industry-wide problem hitting smaller tracks like Turf Paradise especially hard.
When asked what steps the WVRC has taken to correct the veterinary shortage at Mountaineer, Moore wrote that the commission has increased the rate of pay for regulatory veterinarians in recent years.
However, when it comes to private attending veterinarians on the backside, they are there “at the request/contract of the Mountaineer Horsemen,” wrote Moore.
When asked about the track's veterinary shortage, Jim Colvin, Mountaineer's director of racing, wrote, “You will have to address the veterinarian questions to Joe Moore from the WV Racing Commission since Mountaineer has no vets that work for us or are employed by us.”
Colvin failed to answer follow-up questions about whether Mountaineer has attempted to hire association veterinarians to assist the commission's regulatory team and to cover holes during training. Colvin also failed to respond to questions about the recent visit by a HISA representative.
When asked the same question, Moore wrote that commission management was not involved with the HISA representative's visit to Mountaineer Park. “I'm certain he spoke with Racing Commission staff while onsite. However, I have no further details about said conversations.”
HISA's McGovern left the door open to the new federal organization stepping in to fill the veterinary holes at Mountaineer.
“Should HISA determine that safety is compromised at a covered racetrack, HISA has the authority to place a vet at the racetrack, at the racetrack's expense,” she wrote. “HISA has compensated Regulatory and Association veterinarians to enforce HISA regulations. Those expenses are billed back to the racetrack.”
McGovern wrote that HISA “recognizes the national shortage of Equine veterinarians and has had internal discussions about programs to incentivize veterinary students to consider Equine medicine.”
She added, however, “those plans are longer term and do not address the immediate needs.”
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