Chasing safety: Race-day falls and injuries in Irish professional and amateur horseracing from 2016 to 2024.

Overview

• This study analyzed fall and injury rates in Irish professional and amateur horseracing from 2016 to 2024.
• It compared types and incidences of injuries between jump, flat, and amateur racing, evaluated trends over time, and contrasted findings with data from 2007-2016.

Study Objectives and Design

• Objectives:
  • Assess fall and injury rates in Irish horseracing (2016-2024).
  • Characterize injury types and locations.
  • Compare injury rates between professional (jump and flat) and amateur racing.
  • Determine if injury rates have changed over time since a previous study (2007-2016).
• Design:
  • Descriptive epidemiology study using data collected by medical doctors appointed by the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB).
  • Standardized injury report forms were completed at every Irish race meeting from 2016 to 2024.
  • Data included the number of falls, injuries, injury locations, and injury types.

Key Measurements

• Incidence rates of falls and injuries expressed per 1000 rides or per 1000 falls.
• Injury characteristics such as type (fracture, concussion, contusion) and location (upper limb, lower limb, etc.).
• Incidence Rate Ratios (IRRs) calculated to compare:
  • Between jump, flat, and amateur racing.
  • Across years within 2016-2024.
  • Between the current study period (2016-2024) and the previous one (2007-2016).

Findings: Incidence of Falls and Injuries

• Fall incidence: Amateurs experienced the highest rate at 110 falls per 1000 rides.
• Injury incidence:
  • Jump jockeys had the highest number of injuries per 1000 rides (8/1000 rides).
  • Flat jockeys had the highest injury rate relative to falls (294 injuries per 1000 falls), meaning injuries were more likely when falls occurred.
• Serious injuries:
  • Amateurs had the highest fracture (3/1000 rides) and concussion (1/1000 rides) rates.
  • When considering injuries per fall, flat jockeys had the highest rates of fractures (67/1000 falls) and concussions (59/1000 falls).

Injury Trends Over Time (2016-2024)

• There was a statistically significant decrease in injuries per 1000 falls:
  • 7% reduction in jump racing injuries (IRR 0.93, p < 0.001).
  • 10% reduction in flat racing injuries (IRR 0.89, p = 0.003).
• Comparisons to the previous period (2007-2016) showed a 7-28% overall reduction in falls and injuries across Irish horseracing.

Injury Types and Locations

• Upper limb injuries were the most common in jump (34%) and amateur (57%) racing.
• Lower limb injuries were most common in flat racing (30%).
• Types of injuries by category:
  • Contusions were most frequent in jump (33%) and flat (32%) racing.
  • Fractures were predominant in amateur racing (49%).

Conclusions and Implications

• Risk profiles vary significantly by type of horseracing:
  • Amateurs face the highest risk of falling.
  • Jump jockeys have the highest injury rates.
  • Flat jockeys have the highest likelihood of injury if a fall occurs.
• Injury rates among professionals (jump and flat) have decreased, likely reflecting successful safety interventions.
• Amateur racing still experiences high injury rates, especially serious injuries like fractures and concussions, indicating a need for targeted safety measures and greater focus on this group.