Thoroughbred fatality and associated jockey falls and injuries in races in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, Australia: 2009-2014.

The research is about understanding the incidence and causes of fatalities in Thoroughbred horses during flat races in Australia, and the associated jockey falls and injuries these fatalities lead to, over a period of five years.

Study Methodology

• The study employed a cohort methodology, looking at all reported racehorse fatalities through Racing NSW over five racing seasons from 2009 to 2014. This time frame was chosen to provide a substantial dataset for analysis and to reflect recent trends in the industry.
• Poisson regression, a type of statistical analysis, was used to calculate the risks of different outcomes including racehorse fatalities, fatal musculoskeletal injuries, spontaneous death and jockey falls and injuries associated with racehorse fatalities. This is a common technique for examining demographic or medical data involving rates of occurrence.

Results of the Study

• During the study period, 167 horse fatalities were reported. This implies an overall incidence of around 0.59 deaths for every 1,000 starts.
• The reasons for horse fatality were found to be diverse, with 49 different causes reported. Notably, post-mortem examinations were done on only 31.5% of the horses, suggesting that there may be some gaps in the data.
• Out of all these fatalities, 86.2% were due to musculoskeletal injuries, i.e., injuries related to the horse’s muscles, bones, ligaments, etc. This translates to an incidence rate of 0.52 per 1000 starts.
• Fractures were responsible for 57.5% of the total fatalities, with fetlock or proximal sesamoid bones, located in the foot of the horse, being the most common fracture location.
• Of all the horse fatalities, only 13.3% were due to spontaneous death, meaning death without any identifiable external cause, representing an incidence of 0.08 per 1000 starts.
• The study also looked at jockey falls and injuries associated with horse fatalities, finding that these occurred at a rate of 0.18 per 1,000 starts, with reported jockey injuries at 0.12 per 1,000 starts. Most of these injuries occurred to the jockey’s limbs, particularly the upper limbs.

Conclusion

• Overall, the study found that the rates of both horse fatality and associated jockey injury were in line with those found in previous studies from other parts of the world. This suggests that these are common risks across the world of horse racing as a whole.
• These results could help inform strategies to reduce these risks in the future. For instance, greater attention could be paid to protecting horses’ musculoskeletal systems and finding ways to reduce the incidence of fractures.