Dr. Scott Palmer

The New York Gaming Commission (NYGC) has released its 2023 report regarding the high rate of fatalities upstate last year. Between May 26, 2023 and September 4, 2023, there were 17 equine fatalities at Saratoga Race Course, which again put the track's Thoroughbred safety record under scrutiny. Several suggestions were made by the NYGC, none more surprising than the recommendation that NYRA should install a synthetic track at Saratoga. With the Spa already having two turf courses and main dirt course, it remains to been seen if there's any room...

New York State Equine Medical Director Dr. Scott Palmer has described Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scan as a "fantastic diagnostic tool" and that "it can play a very important role" in helping to identify and pinpoint subtle musculoskeletal injuries in horses, but that the scan is not the best initial screening tool in singling out horses at risk for catastrophic injuries. Palmer addressed the issue during an equine health and safety briefing held at Tuesday's meeting of the New York State Gaming Commission and also offered some preliminary findings  on...

Thoroughbreds in New York would be required to pass a health check 72 hours prior to a race or workout if a new rule proposed Monday by the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) gets adopted after passing a public commentary period and a final vote by the commission at a future meeting. The proposal that got put into the pipeline by unanimous voice vote after zero discussion among commissioners on Monday would require a trainer's attending veterinarian to conduct the 72-hour fitness exams. These health checks would be in...

Edited Press Release The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) announced the members of an Advisory Committee which has been convened to oversee a three-year study on the use of furosemide (also known as "Lasix") on horses during the 48-hour period before the start of a Covered Horserace, including the effect on equine health and the integrity of competition. The establishment of this Advisory Committee for the study of furosemide administration and the requirements of the study are specifically mandated and set forth in the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act....

The New York State Gaming Commission has announced that its Equine Medical Director Dr. Scott E. Palmer VMD and all three stewards will be made available to the media at the conclusion of the program to discuss any incidents that occur during the races at Saratoga Race Course Sept. 3. In addition, Dr. Palmer will be available to speak to the media in the event of any equine health-related on-track incidents that take place during the day. Dr. Luis Castro, the American Association of Equine Practitioners on-call veterinarian, will provide...

Since last summer, the New York Racing Association (NYRA) has trialed on thousands of runners a discreet sensor technology capable of detecting minute changes in a horse's gait at high speed. Called StrideSAFE, the biometric sensor mechanism slips into the saddle cloth and works like a traffic light signal, providing a green for all-clear, an amber for possible warning (light amber better than dark amber), and a red for possible danger. The ultimate aim of StrideSAFE--a focus of discussion during the recent Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation Welfare and Safety of...

On this week's episode of the TDN Writers' Room, Joe Bianca and Bill Finley celebrate opening week of the Saratoga race meet and are joined by Dr. Scott Palmer to discuss the latest equine technology on the horizon that can change the sport for the better.D.

Beyond the relatively obscure and exotic performance-enhancing drugs allegedly administered to the Thoroughbreds of federally indicted trainers who were charged in March in a years-long doping racket, subsequent testing on the New York contingent of those horses revealed 77% of them had clenbuterol in their systems. And because medical records associated with those Thoroughbreds didn't indicate that drug was administered for its intended purpose (to treat a medically legitimate airway disease), New York State Gaming Commission equine medical director Scott Palmer, VMD, said that the study he conducted on that...

Alan Foreman, chairman of the Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, and Dr. Scott Palmer, the Equine Medical Director for the New York State Gaming Commission, will offer a progress report on the Mid-Atlantic Strategic Plan to Reduce Equine Fatalities Wednesday, Nov. 11. Foreman and Palmer, the architects of the plan, will provide background and report on the progress of reforms that have been undertaken in the seven states that host racing in the Mid-Atlantic region: Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia. The Plan, adopted in 2019, is...

During the second installment of its ongoing webinar series, the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation presented the "Importance of transparency in medical records; monitoring horses between starts" Tuesday afternoon. Chief Veterinary Officer of The Stronach Group's Dr. Dionne Benson moderated the discussion and was joined by private racetrack practitioner Dr. Ryan Carpenter (Equine Medical Center, Cypress, Ca.); Dr. William Farmer (Equine Medical Director, Churchill Downs Incorporated) and Dr. Scott Palmer (Equine Medical Director, New York State Gaming Commission). Leading off the 1-hour discussion was the necessity of the transparency in medical...