In a hugely ambitious safety and public relations move, Churchill Downs yesterday announced a 22-point program which, when and if fully implemented, could have far-reaching consequences.
Called “Safety from Start to Finish,” the program incorporates actions taken by a number of other groups into one consolidated effort. It was pushed and led by Churchill’s general manager, Jim Gates, who said the track was “passionate about this commitment.”
Here are the principal points of the program:
- Independent standardized third-party testing and monitoring of track surfaces;
- “Supertesting” of all winning horses for more than 100 performance-enhancing drugs;
- Age restrictions requiring all starters to be at least 24 calendar months of age before becoming eligible to race;
- Freezing and storage of equine blood and urine samples to allow for retrospective testing;
- Banning of steroids;
- Limits on the number of horses allowed to compete in certain races, but not on the Derby, which can continue to have 20-horse fields;
- Prohibition of milkshaking;
- Prohibition of transportation of horses from Churchill Downs’ four tracks to slaughter;
- Banning of unsafe shoes and toe grabs;
- Use of low-impact riding whips, and limited usage rules;
- Presence of on-site medical personnel, equipment and state-of-the-art equine ambulances;
- Immediate online access to jockey medical histories for emergency medical personnel;
- $1 million in catastrophic injury insurance coverage for jockeys;
- Mandatory and uniform reporting of equine injuries to the Equine Injury Database System, thereby assisting in the compilation of statistics and trends to improve safety conditions around the country;
- A professionally designed and installed safety rail on the inside of the dirt course;
- Mandatory usage by all jockeys, exercise riders and other on-track personnel of safety vests and safety helmets that meet internationally acknowledged quality standards;
- 3/8ths-inch foam padding on all parts of the starting gates;
- Significant financial support for equine retirement programs;
- Inspection of all horses by regulatory veterinarians prior to and following all races;
- Review of security procedures around barns and other track backstretch areas;
- Continued maintenance of protocols for the treatment of horses that have been injured during racing or training, to ensure the most humane treatment possible; and
- Mandatory, independent, and complete necropsies of any horse that dies as a result of an injury sustained while racing or training at Churchill Downs.
The announcement said the cost of the program had not been finalized, but is expected to exceed $1 million a year. The plan will apply not only to Churchill but will be phased in at Churchill’s racing operations at Arlington Park in Illinois, Calder Race Course in Florida and Fair Grounds in New Orleans.
(HTA)