‘Equine research–our only business’: the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation.

The research abstract discusses the role and impact of the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation (GJCRF) in the field of equine research. Known as one of the leading world sources in equine study funding, the foundation, over the years, has funded research that promotes horse welfare and safety. It assesses the scientific and practical merits of prospective researches and funds their cause. More than a third of its awards have focused on musculoskeletal disease and infectious disease studies in horses, with laminitis receiving the highest funding.

Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation (GJCRF) Role & Impact

• The GJCRF is recognized as a significant source of equine research funding in the global scene. It stands alongside organizations like the UK’s Horserace Betting Levy Board and the USA’s Morris Animal Foundation.
• Established 25 years ago, it has a mission to fund studies that can contribute to the welfare and safety of horses. An annual competitive funding process, restructured in 1999, enables them to choose valuable research projects to fund based on their scientific and practical merits.
• Funding recipients include scientists and equine practitioners from academia and industry. Although primarily a North American organization, the GJCRF has funded researches from universities in other countries.
• A total of over $20,000,000 has been provided in research grant funding by the GJCRF, which also annually awards Storm Cat Career Development Awards to several young equine scientists.

GJCRF Research Funding Trends and Equine Research Needs

• An analysis of GJCRF’s past 15 years of funding reveals trends where a third of all awards were given to studies related to musculoskeletal disease, including laminitis, and a similar number for researching infectious diseases.
• In comparison, equine veterinarians consider the most pressing research areas to be laminitis, colic, musculoskeletal diseases, racing injury, infectious diseases followed by noninfectious respiratory disease and diseases of the foal(Based on the American Association of Equine Practitioners’ 2009 survey).
• Observing these trends, the GJCRF has funded research areas align with the priorities of the equine clinicians, with exception of colic research which is substantially less due to ethical and methodological challenges.

Equine Research Topics Reviewed

• The abstract highlights topics reviewed by GJCRF, which included contemporary research such as regenerative medicine and genetics, areas that needed authoritative review like stallion fertility and equine immunity development, and challenges for equine clinicians such as biosecurity, infection control, and pain control.
• These reviews aimed to provide an updated understanding of these fields, identify the critical knowledge gaps that future research needs to address, and recognize the vital role of research foundations and donors in supporting these efforts.