Photo:

Alex Evers / Eclipse Sportswire

For the first time in the U.S. since data has been recorded, the racing-related fatality rate at racetracks subject to the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority’s rules fell below 1.00 per 1,000 starts for a calendar year.

In 2024, 99.91% of starts did not result in a fatality. From Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 47 racetracks across 19 states operating under HISA’s rules recorded an aggregate racing-related fatality rate of 0.90 per 1,000 starts. That’s a decrease of about 27% from the 1.23 rate reported by HISA in 2023 and a 55% decrease from when The Jockey Club’s Equine Injury Database began reporting fatalities in 2009 at a rate of 2.00.

“It has never been clearer that Thoroughbred racing has become safer under HISA,” said HISA CEO Lisa Lazarus. “While we celebrate this progress, HISA remains committed to collaborating with industry stakeholders to further reduce fatalities and to enhance safety for horses, jockeys and all those who love and participate in the sport.”

HISA’s racetrack-safety program, implemented on July 1, 2022, and its anti-doping and medication control program, implemented on May 22, 2023, have significantly strengthened safety measures nationwide by implementing uniform rules that embody best-practice standards.

Key requirements include expanded veterinary protocols, pre-race inspections, laboratory harmonization, racetrack surface monitoring and uniform medication oversight. HISA also has rolled out new technologies in the last year to assist stakeholders with making informed decisions about equine athletes, including HISA Horse In-Sight, an innovative platform that combines a horse’s career and medical history to provide a unique and holistic view of its health and performance.

In March, HISA will release its 2024 annual report, which will detail racing-related fatalities over time by state and racetrack. Additionally, for the first time, the 2024 annual report will include full-year training-related fatality data on an aggregate, per-state and per-track basis.

By implementing standardized tracking and reporting for training-related fatalities, HISA is providing unprecedented transparency and insight as part of ongoing efforts to prevent training- and racing-related fatalities across the country. This expanded dataset will enable a more comprehensive understanding of risk factors and inform targeted safety measures in both training and racing.