injuries

High injury rates in racing greyhounds sees a proposed ban on the sport introduced by the New Zealand government on Tuesday, Reuters reported. "While fewer dogs are dying, injury rates, while down slightly, have plateaued and remain unacceptably high," Minister for Racing Winston Peters said in a statement. The plan is for the sport to be ended gradually over a 20-month period. An advisory committee has been appointed to re-home an estimated 2,900 racing dogs, according to Peters. A bill was introduced by the government, with the support of the...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY -- Trainer Jena Antonucci could have easily stepped aside Sunday morning and passed on a question about Maple Leaf Mel (Cross Traffic)'s catastrophic injury in Saturday's GI Test S. That's not how she handled it. After commenting on how pleased she was with the way her GI Belmont S. winner Arcangelo (Arrogate) worked five furlongs in 1:00.21 Sunday morning, Antonucci turned to how trainer Melanie Giddings has to deal with the loss of her star filly. "I get chills," Antonucci said, then paused to compose herself. "Any...

One horse was pulled up and eventually vanned off the track, while another suffered a catastrophic injury during the running of Sunday's fourth race at Saratoga. A field of six went to the post in the 11-furlong allowance on a turf course officially labeled 'good' for Sunday's racing after riding yielding Saturday following heavy rains that canceled the last four races on Friday. The Graham Motion-trained Frivole (Fr) (Anodin {Ire}) saved ground from her inside draw and maintained that position through the stretch for the first time, but her action...

Jockey Tom Marquand, who sustained a concussion after parting ways with his mount in Australia on Saturday, underwent shoulder surgery as a result of the incident, as well on Wednesday. Marquand was forceably removed from his mount in the A$2-million Inglis Millennium due to interference from another rider, and was originally diagnosed with just a concussion. Subsequent MRI scans revealed a dislocated sternoclavicular joint. "It has basically dislocated backwards, so I have to go for an operation today [Wednesday] to get it wired back in," Marquand said in a video...

Trainer Richard Baltas is currently restricted from entering horses nor are his horses permitted to engage in timed works at Santa Anita Park, according to the Paulick Report. "We are conducting an investigation into matters concerning trainer Richard Baltas," Aidan Butler, chief operating officer of 1/ST, which runs Santa Anita, told the Paulick Report via text message. "Pending completion of that investigation and any final decision based on the results, horses trained by Mr. Baltas are not permitted to enter races at 1/ST Racing venues nor engage in timed works."...