Race-related fatalities in U.S. jump racing, 2023-2025: incidence and documentation across public reporting sources.

Overview

• This study analyzed race-related fatalities in U.S. jump racing under the National Steeplechase Association (NSA) from 2023-2025.
• It aimed to identify fatalities, compare their documentation across public sources, and estimate the incidence rate of confirmed fatalities.

Introduction and Context

• Jump racing, involving horses racing over hurdles, fences, or timber obstacles, carries a risk of injury and fatality.
• In the U.S., the NSA governs jump racing, but fatality information is scattered across multiple public sources.
• No single reporting system consistently connects race events with final clinical outcomes (i.e., deaths or euthanasia following incidents).
• This fragmentation complicates understanding the full scope and frequency of fatalities related to jump racing.

Objectives

• To identify and verify race-related fatalities in NSA-sanctioned jump races between 2023 and 2025.
• To assess and compare how these fatalities are documented across publicly available resources.
• To calculate a minimum incidence rate of confirmed fatalities per 1,000 race starts.

Methods

• Population: All official starters in completed NSA jump races (hurdle, fence, timber races) during 2023-2025.
• Fatality Sources:
  • Horseracing Wrongs (HRW) – an independent watchdog reporting on equine fatalities.
  • NSA official results.
  • Equibase records – comprehensive race data provider.
  • Public NSA steward reports – official racecourse steward incident reports when available.
• Identification and Verification:
  • Potential fatalities initially flagged by HRW were matched with NSA and Equibase data.
  • Public steward reports were used to confirm and supplement incident details.
• Incidence Calculation:
  • Fatality rates were calculated as the number of confirmed fatalities per 1,000 race starts.
  • Confidence intervals calculated using exact Poisson methods to assess statistical precision.

Results

• Total race starts analyzed: 3,070 official starters.
• Identified deaths: Nine fatalities related to jump racing incidents.
• Incidence rate: 2.93 fatalities per 1,000 starts (95% CI: 1.34 to 5.57).
• Demographics:
  • Median horse age was 6.6 years, ranging from 5.0 to 10.8 years old.
• Cause of fatalities:
  • Six deaths resulted from falls during the race.
  • Two deaths followed “pulled-up” or collapse events (horses stopped running suddenly due to distress).
  • One death occurred from deterioration after the horse finished the race.
• Documentation Differences:
  • Equibase usually recorded immediate race incidents but did not document the final fatal outcomes.
  • HRW reported all nine fatalities comprehensively.
  • NSA steward reports documented seven of the nine fatalities.

Conclusions and Implications

• Fatalities in jump racing occur at a measurable rate, and most are linked to falls or sudden distress during races.
• Current public race records, like Equibase and official race results, often capture immediate incidents but fail to track final outcomes such as death or euthanasia.
• Independent watchdogs like HRW provide more complete fatality data, highlighting gaps in official reporting.
• NSA would benefit from creating a centralized, integrated fatality reporting system linking:
  • Official race starts
  • Immediate race incidents
  • Final clinical outcomes including fatality and euthanasia data
• This system would enhance transparency, improve public understanding, and potentially contribute to safety improvements in U.S. jump racing.